Future walker
by Namikaze princess
Summary: After Pein's invasion, Naruto was betrayed and killed by his own friends. However Shinigami had a plan and sent him back to genin exam day. Now what she will do with her new life? Wait.. She? Dark, cunning FemNaruXHarem. NonYaoi, NonYuri.
1. Rebirth&Reverse

**Disclaimer: I don't own them, it belongs to Kishimoto-Ojisan.**

**A/N: This is my first Naruto story. Huahu! Hope you like it.**

* * *

Water..

Water everywhere..

_Where am I...?_

_It feels so light.. So comfortable.._

_But also.. So cold.._

**'Wake up, idiot! Do you want both of us to die?**'

_What..?_

As Naruto opened his eyes, he soon realized that he was in the middle of little cascade.

"Oh, shit."

Choking with water he swimmed across the water and reached to a flat rock. As he climbed onto the rock, he felt strange himself, so frowning he looked down over at his uncomfortable chest.

Soon grabbing two little moons in his chest he widened his eyes. "..What the hell is this..?"

**'Can't you see the situation, baka?**' Kyuubi growled.

_'What do you mean?-! What's wrong with my body?_' Screaming inwardly at Kyuubi Naruto glared down at _her _breast with horrified look. Then she slipped her hand through her thighs, and..

_'GOD! What the hell! Where's my.._'

**'Little brat**.' Sighing Kyuubi growled again. **'Can't you remember anything?**'

Naruto didn't answer, unconsciously blocking the fox out entirely as she tried to wrap her mind around what was going on. The Kyuubi hadn't been a separate entity from her in...a very long time.

_'Well.. Wait.. I was.. I was.._'

**'You were dying**.' The demon fox snorted. **'Your bullshit friends had trapped you and killed you. Don't you remember?**'

'...'

**'I won't say sorry for you. Anyway, we were sent back to exactly 3 years before, brat**.'

_'Wait...urrgh_.' Grabbing her head Naruto squeezed her eyes shut, trying to figure out what had happened.

_'Sakura had... Confessed.. She said that she liked me.._'

**'Which was a bullshit lie**.'

_'And after that we met Sasuke.. And failed to retrieve him again.. Madara took him away and.. We came back to Konoha.._'

**'The bitch had deliberately poisoned you**.' Kyuubi's voice grew into more and more groaning sound.

Naruto opened her eyes. _'Yes.. Sakura said that she doesn't want me to kill Sasuke, that I and Sasuke both dying on the battlefield should never happen, that they think if only I didn't exist then things might have been different.._'

**'Don't cry here**.' The demon grumbled.

_'I'm not crying!'_ Naruto snarled.

Gods above. That had been a bad one. Naruto shook her head and laid it back against the cool rock, trying to regulate her breathing. Sakura's betrayal had all but shattered Naruto's world.

**'Ok, so what are you going to do? You are damn 12year-old brat now. Almighty Shinigami had done this, so don't blame me.'**

Kami-sama is playing with me.

This was what Naruto concluded as she stared, wide eyed, at her reflection on the water. She raised a shaking hand. Her reflection did the same. They touched.

Holy shit.

What stared back at her was an innocent young girl of twelve, with long golden hair, large blue eyes and rosy oval face.

'_..But why turning me into a girl?_'

**'I think this one looks _much_ better than the past one.**'

_'Shut up, Kyuubi._' Naruto growled. For minutes she lost in thought, her blue eyes shimmering with cold, dark gleaming.

Then abrutly she smirked.

_'Hmme, I'm not lost yet.._'

**'What are you planning to do, Naruto-_chan_?**'

If Kyuubi had been standing in front of her, she'd have surely gave him a dead glare. However since the reality was different she just calmly explained for her lifetime companion.

_'Well, since I'm back to the past, I can change thing, many things, If I try. This can be a chance offered by Kami-sama_.'

**'Well that's natural_**'

_'And this time, I won't be a blinded fool._' The girl's eyes flared.

Kyuubi became silent. Naruto continued. _'I want to make them feel bitterness, I will make those traitors feel every bitterness that they can taste in life. I will never offer them any of my heart, for even if I did once they'd betrayed me. Well, and now I am a girl, which is even better._'

'**..Became vindictive, huh? Well I'm not resenting on it. But what about the other ones?'**

_'What do you mean?_'

**'The ones who truly cared for you, the ones who hadn't betrayed you.**'

Naruto remained silence for a moment, thinking about..

_Iruka.._

_Jiraya.._

_Kakashi.._

_Tsunade.._

'_..Damn, I don't know whether it was hypocrisy or not. I don't really care about it now._'

'**Really**' Almost amused voice. **'Oh, now I feel so sorry...**'

"Naruto!"

"Naruto! Are you there?"

Naruto perked up, then soon recognized her Academy teacher and two ANBUs.

"Naruto, are you ok?" Iruka asked as he jumped down to the slippery rocks and approached to the kid. "You haven't come to genin test, and I was worr..." Slurring the end of his sentence the chuunin froze in his place, staring at the girl in front of him. Slowly, his jaw began to be dropped, his eyes almost popping out from its sockets...

"Who.. Who are you?-!"

* * *

".."

Sandaime massaged his temples as he stared blankly at the girl in front of him.

What the hell happened to this kid?

"You.. Found him.. I mean, _her_ like this, Iruka?"

Iruka nodded, his eyes wearily watching Naruto. Contradict to the shocked and worried atmosphere of the other two, Naruto was calmly sitting on the chair, her head tilted little to the backward.

"Naruto." Clearing his throat Sandaime called. "Can you remember what had happened?"

_Old man.. I'd never thought I will be able to see you ever again._ Sighing inwardly Naruto looked up and blinked innocently. "No, Hokage-sama. I was kinda drowned, and when I woke up I found myself like this."

"I see.." Nodding Sarutobi lit his pipe.

Holy shit, What could have happened?

How could possibly a boy turn into a girl?

..If Minato were here, then he'd have beat the shit out of the old man..

Shuddering Sandaime moved his eyes onto the Academy teacher. "..I think the best solution for current situation is, that if someone asks where's Naruto we should tell the person that Naruto was actually a girl, that she was just disguising. Then we'll keep on finding out what had happened."

Iruka nodded, he had not much things to say, for he neither had any idea on the matter nor was able to catch what was going on.

"Naruto.. Are you ok?"

Naruto tilted her head little, then smiled. "Yes, Iruka-sensei. I'm not really frightened, or shocked."

Iruka blushed at the rather charming smile of a rather pretty girl, momentarily forgetting the fact that Naruto was _once_ a boy.

Sandaime sighed in relief. At least Naruto himself..no, herself seemed okay on this.

Iruka turned to Sarutobi. "Hokage-sama, do you think Naruto can take genin exam today? I mean.."

"I can, sensei." Naruto interrupted in a firm tone.

**I'm open to any suggestionS/criticisms. However, flaming won't be appreciated.**

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Review please!**


	2. Second run

**Disclaimer: I don't own them, it belongs to Kishimoto-Ojisan.**

**A/N: Thanks to the reviewers! You guys are best! **

**I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Naruto grinned at herself in front of looking-glass.

It was just very amusing, to scrutinize his.. her new body and face. She herself could not help being amazed at how her atmosphere changes everytime she makes different face expression. She tried many expressions; smiling, smirking, grinning, scowling, saddening, pouting, etc. etc.

Though it was her own face, she could tell that she's the prettiest little girl she'd ever seen..

**'You know, what you did up to whole this time is a most terrible load of bullshit I've ever seen.**'

Naruto flushed. '_Kyuubi!'_

The demon fox seemed to chuckle. **'It's very interesting to see you making a sassy girl out of yourself.'**

_'Shut up!' _Naruto snarled. However soon she threw a question to her tenant. _'Well, what do you think of it?'_

**'What do I say, brat?**' Snorted Kyuubi.

Snorting back Naruto stood up, and looked at the clock.

7:00 AM.

Whistling Naruto opened her closet and brought out her new clothes. Yesterday, after taking her genin exam, she ran to the stores and bought enough 'girl's wearings'. Sarutobi had offered her enough money to buy girl's things.

No more orange.

Humming lightly Naruto spreaded the clothes on the floor and examined them for a moment, before she picked her choices.

Black shorts, long-sleeved blue shirt and black flat jacket. Much better than skirt, bah!

Then she wore a pair of fresh stockings and ninja boots. After Wearing forehead protector around her neck, she picked her newly bought brush, and combed her long, soft golden hair carefully.

_'How do I look?'_ She again asked to her sulky companion.

**'You look good.'**

_'Huh? Why a sudden kind answer?'_

**'Because otherwise you'll keep on pestering me with non-stopping questions.'** Then the demon chuckled mockingly.

Naruto calmly blocked the fox out entirely.

No big deal. She could make this work. She was a boy before, she had so many advantages. There had to be some way she could turn this situation into something beneficial for her.

Naruto thought for a couple of moments, considering about the plan she'd concocted during whole night. Going back in time meant that she knew what would be happening before it actually happened. So technically she had a chance to change the future, including pre-crushing those who're gonna hurt her in the future. With every means, she'll crush them.

She won't kill them that early. Life can be so painful, and the death will be so welcomed.

And the means, will be very, very amusing.

* * *

With a crash the door to the classroom crashed open and two girls struggled to get inside. One had pale blond hair and blue eyes and the other had bubblegum pink hair and green eyes.

"Goal!" The two cried out simultaneously as they finally managed to scramble inside.

"Looks like I win again Sakura." the blonde said haughtily.

"Not so fast Ino my foot beat yours by one centimeter." The pinkette countered.

"I don't think so."

A soft cough interrupted the two girls. "Excuse me."

Turning around the two looked into the dark lenses of Aburame Shino's glasses. Their reactions were distinctly different. Tossing her hair over her shoulder Sakura walked away without saying word. Ino's response was much friendlier.

"Shino." She exclaimed warmly and gave him a quick hug.

"Ino." he responded quietly. Only someone who had known him as well as she did could have picked out the faint smile in his tone.

"So hey what happened to Naruto. He wasn't even here yesterday. Do you think something happened to him?" Ino asked concern visible in her bright blue eyes.

"I would not worry."

"That's it? don't worry. If he messed up he'll have to repeat the year again. Again!"

Walking past her to his usual seat Shino crossed his arms and sat down, looking out the window he responded quietly. "He never fails to surprise me."

Hearing a commotion the two turned to see Sakura and several of the other girls fighting to see who would sit next to the class idol Uchiha Sasuke.

"Hey I'm going to sit there!" With a shout Ino joined the scrum as well, thoughts of Naruto forgotten for the moment. Shino watched the never ending battle for the coveted seat disinterestedly.

"So where's the dead last?" An arrogant voice drew Shino's attention away from the lively catfight that was going on a few rows down. Tilting his head up he looked up and nodded to Kiba who had just entered the classroom. Shrugging he turned his attention back to the fight.

"Whatever." Kiba walked off to sit next to Shikimaru and Chouji.

"Hey guys." A soft, rather pleasant female voice suddenly called from the doorway, stopping all conversation as all heads turned to see who it was.

Standing in the doorway with her arms crossed was a total stranger girl. Her sun-kissed golden hair reached up to her waist, and her slight mesmerizing deep blue eyes were resting upon the kids.

A silence fell in the whole classroom.

Girls started to glare at this new girl with hostility. When a bunch of pretty girls meet a prettier girl, the outcome is obvious.

And boys.. Boys. Almost half of the boys dropped their jaws, some starting to salivate at the sight of the splendid girl.

"Who is that barbie?" Chouji mumbled, his mouth half-filled with chips.

Shikamaru silently scrutinized the new girl. Kiba was the first to make an approach. He stood up, and strode toward the girl, and opened his mouth with a most gentleman-like manner. "Hello. May I know who you are?"

Kiba blushed when the girl tilted her head little and smiled. "What's this? Can't you recognize me?"

"Huh?"

A dumbfounded murmurings rose among the other kids. "Does Kiba know that girl..?"

A tensed silence stretched out in the classroom, until Shikamaru suddenly stood up, exclaiming. "Na.. Naruto?-!"

"WHAT?-!" Everyone nearly jumped up.

Naruto let out a playful chuckle. "Sorry guys. Did I surprise you by my real self?"

"Thi.. This is _real _you?" Kiba questioned with an unbelievable tone.

"You're actually a girl?" Shikamaru questioned, standing in front of Naruto.

Naruto smiled quietly. "Yes, this is real me. I'm actually a girl, though I've been disguising as a boy for the whole time."

So the loud-mouthed, orange-wearing Naruto was actually a girl!

"Let me faint.. For few minutes." Then Shino sprawled over his desk, noting that Hyuuga Hinata beside him had fainted already.

"Kami-sama.. Come here. We need to talk." Shaking his head Shikamaru led Naruto to the seat. The other kids silently gathered around them_ save for Sasuke and few girls. Sasuke merely stared at Naruto from his seat.

"So you're really a girl, and was just pretending to be a hyper-boy up to whole this time?"

"Yes." Naruto nodded, her crystal blue eyes twinkling. "But you had recognized me. I'm actually glad, you know."

Shikamaru blinked, his cheeks beginning to turn into crimson.

Watching Akamaru jumping onto Naruto's laps Kiba murmured. "Well... Naruto, I think I like this new you."

Naruto giggled. "Thank you, Kiba."

"Yeah! Naruto-chan is still our friend!" Chouji cheered, only to earn a smack on the head from someone behind.

"That's for sure, baka!"

"AWW!"

"All right class settle down settle down." Iruka called as he entered the classroom. Soon the chuunin was welcomed by a flood of questions.

"Iruka-sensei! Is Naruto really a girl?"

"Did you already know that, sensei?"

"Why was she hiding herself?"

Iruka looked over the kids, then let out a sigh. "Well our Naruto is actually a girl, as well as you can see it clearly. She had to be under disguise by Hokage-sama's order. You know, girls are exposed to more dangers than boys do."

The girls nodded in agreement.

"But now," Grinning Iruka gazed down at the kids. "Since she became an official ninja, she doesn't have to put disguise anymore. Now back to your seats!"

When the class had settled down he started speaking again.

"First of all congratulations to all of you. Starting today you are all official ninjas. The results for genin exam are here: Top1. Uzumaki Naruto, Top2. Uchiha Sasuke. Top3. Nara Shikamaru.."

"Wa.. Wait, sensei, is Naruto on top1?" The kids became wide-eyed once again.

"Yes. Which took me by surprise.." Eyeing on Naruto Iruka nodded. He could not understand how Naruto managed to take the test so easily. Perhaps it's related with the blonde's gender-change..? He could not answer yet.

"Wow, Naruto-chan. The real you are just amazing." Kiba whispered. Naruto shrugged and smiled.

"Alright let's get to the team assignments. So here is how this is going to work. You will be assigned to a three man team headed by a jounin sensei to form a four man cell. Now listen up I'll start by calling out the names."

Everyone became silent, eyes twinkling.

Naruto could feel some male kids glancing over at her. _Sorry kids, but we won't be on same team._ She grinned.

"Team 10."

"Ino Yamanaka." Ino perked up but scowled when Sakura grinned at her.

"Chouji Akimichi." Chouji crammed his chips into his mouth.

"Shikimaru Nara." Shikamaru sighed lazily.

"Team 8."

"Shino Aburame." Shino merely blinked.

"Hinata Hyuuga." Hinata was still in her dismay. Her Naruto-kun was a girl.

"Kiba Inuzuka." Kiba let out a sheepish groan.

"Team 7."

"Naruto Uzumaki." If possible Naruto showed even less of a reaction than Shino had.

"Sakura Haruno." Sakura scowled, glaring at the blonde. The pinkette could not completely comprehend 'Naruto actually a girl' fact, but still she was aware. The deadlast was prettier than her!

"Sasuke Uchiha." Sakura's expression shifted into a happy smile. Sasuke silently threw a glance at Naruto.

"All right class now you take your lunch and wait for your senseis."

* * *

Wait.. Wait and wait..

Genins of team7 were only remainings in the classroom, waiting for their sensei to come.

The room was silence itself.

Naruto was quietly sitting, reading some scrolls. Behind her Sasuke was seating motionlessly, his eyes fixed at the blonde in front. Sakura was watching Sasuke's every movements.

"..Hey Naruto." Sasuke finally broke the silence away. Sakura alerted at this.

Naruto put her scrolls down and turned back. "What, Sasuke?"

Sauske shifted uncomfortably. Naruto was always a boy who tried to pick a fight with him. But now he was she, and what's this aura surrounding her?

If Sasuke hadn't known better, he would have said that Naruto was giving off the same vibe as the elder chuunins or jounins.

His eyes twitched. So everyone has been wrong about Naruto all these years..

"How.. Did you manage to be top1 in genin exam?" He could barely make a question.

Naruto shook her head. She'd forgotten how... Young Sasuke had once been. It was a shock to see the child in place of the..

But there was a still remaining inoccence in the boy's eyes. Though hatred was also there, it wasn't as deep as when she saw him last time in her former life..

_Never.. Again.._

"I'm not a person you thought to be, Sasuke." Smiling Naruto lowered her head.

Sasuke flinched when his forehead nearly touched Naruto's forehead.

Naruto continued. "And how's that going for you? The whole I-need-to-bear-hatred-to-kill-my-brother mantra? Gotten any stronger lately?"

"Naruto! How dare you speak to Sasuke like that?-!" Sakura sprang up, livid.

"Don't interrupt." Muttering to Sakura Sasuke glared at Naruto. If it had been any other person who spoke out that words, then the person would surely have been crushed at the corner of this room already, nosebleeding. However with this girl Naruto speaking about it Sasuke found himself strangely unarmed.

A silece flew for a moment. Then Sasuke finally blurted out. ".._He_ said that I have to cling to hatred in order to beat him."

Naruto raised her golden eyebrow. "That man just killed your entire kins. You're really going to trust what he says?"

Sasuke blushed. "I didn't think of it like that.."

"Besides, You came at the very end of the massacre. Right?"

"..Yeah."

"So you don't really know why Itachi decided to kill your clan besides what he told you?"

A perplexed look rose upon Sasuke's face.

Smiling mildly Naruto gave a quick squeeze on Sasuke's hand. "Then before you go off trying to kill him, first try to find out what really had happened."

Sasuke thought it over for a moment. He blinked. "But what about.. my power levels?"

"You know," Naruto moved even closer. "I can teach you many things. Even without hatred, you can be powerful."

Sasuke blinked again, feeling a pleasant scent of aroma from the girl. Strangely, he felt relaxed.

"Agree?" Naruto whispered.

"..Yes."

Meanwhile, Sakura watched the two with unbelievable expression on her face. How could Sasuke say yes at the deadlast's suggestion? Hell, the blondie dobe was a deadlast, a fool, who always had been trying to get Sakura's attention!

No, Sakura could not let the dobe take Sasuke away from her.

She had to do something..

"Yo!" Said an unfamiliar voice. Everyone turned and, leaning against the open doorway looking as innocent as a newborn baby, was Kakashi. He gave them all a little wave.

"You're late!" Screamed Sakura.

"Well, there was this old lady crossing the road and since I'm a good man..."

Naruto's breath caught in her throat as her eyes widened then shut tight with pain.

_No.. No.._

_Don't.. Don't give yourself away because of a memory.._

"All right why don't we all go to the roof?"

_You're seeing him for the first time... Remember.. He's not the man you remember... **Yet**.._

Naruto opened her eyes again when she felt Sasuke nudging at her.

* * *

Kakashi looked over his kids as they came out onto the balcony one by one. he leaned back on the railing and affected a look of uncaring laziness as his eye narrowed.

He was already informed of 'Naruto-turning to-a-girl' incident from Sandaime.

Hell. How could a boy turn into a girl? This question had keep on pestering him for the last few days.

Or was it that Naruto's really a girl, but Yondaime had put some jutsu which would turn her into a boy until she reaches at certain age?

_Well at least she's pretty enough_. And that was enough for Hatake Kakashi.

"..So, why don't you introduce yourselves first?"

"Can you explain what that means?" Sakura asked politely.

Kakashi spreaded his arms in 'what' manner. "Your likes, dislikes, hobbies and dreams for the future or something."

"Can you give us an example? I mean why don't you go first?" Sakura asked again.

"Me?" The jounin lazily pointed at himself. "My name is Hatake Kakashi. My likes and dislikes.. I don't feel like telling you that. My hobbies.. I have lots of hobbies. My dream for the future.. I don't want to speak about it."

_We only earned his name_. Thought Sasuke.

"Ok, then I'll begin." Clearing her throat Sakura began. "I'm Haruno Sakura. I like.." She glanced over at Uchiha and giggled. "My hobbies are reading and shopping. My dream for the future is.." She again glanced over at Uchiha and giggled again.

_Kami-sama, it's a fangirl. _Thinking in dismay Kakashi yawned. "And your dislikes?"

Sakura pointed at Naruto who was leaning against the railing. "Naru-baka and Ino-pig!"

Naruto smirked inwardly._ I know, you never liked me during whole 4 years together.. Don't worry, bitch. Your life will soon turn into a hell._

Then Sasuke opened his mouth. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I like training, I dislike weak idiots, and my dream for the future.. is resurrection of my clan."

Kakashi cocked his head. Hoh, so what about killing his own brother? Where did it go?

Slowly, the jounin moved his eyes onto the blonde girl. "And you?"

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto." Her blue eyes half-closed Naruto spoke. "I like ramen and training. I despise people who betray their friends. My hobbies are learning scrolls and training. My dream for the future is.. I don't feel like telling you that." She flashed a playful smirk at Kakashi.

"Idiot! How can you speak like that to your sensei?" Sakura barked. Naruto simply ignored her.

Kakashi suppressed a smile. What a surprise. Does gender-change also affects one's personality?

"So now that we all know each other, let me brief you. Ahem you all passed the genin exam, which means you all have the ability to be genins. Now you have to pass my genin exam to see if you are worthy of being genins."

"What do you mean Kakashi-Sensei?" Sakura asked.

"It means that I will give you your final genin exam. Tomorrow meet me at training ground 7 at 5 in the morning. I suggest you don't eat breakfast. Got that?"

"Yes." The three more or less chorused.

"OK then I will see you tomorrow." Waving at the three the jounin turned, but when he was about to disappear Naruto's voice stopped him. "Wait, sensei."

"Hmme..?" Raising his silver eyebrow Kakashi turned to the girl.

Soon the jounin had to blink quizzically as Naruto looked up and stretched her hand out around his neck.

_What the hell..?_

"..This one." Picking a strand of silver hair that had been clinging onto his collarbone Naruto giggled.

Kakashi blinked again, then made an eye-smirk. "Well thank you, Naruto." Then he disappeared in a dark puff.

...

Turing back and picking up her small bag Naruto waved. "Goodbye, teammates." Then she took her left.

Sasuke silently picked his things up and began to chase after Naruto.

Left alone, Sakura rolled her eyes. "Sasuke-kun?"

**I'm open to any suggestionS/criticisms. However, flaming won't be appreciated.**

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Review please!**


	3. Bells and Balls

**Disclaimer: I don't own them, it belongs to Kishimoto-Ojisan.**

**A/N: Big Thanks to my lovely beta, Eat-fresh. **

**Also Thanks to those reviewers, and also those who faved this story.**

**You guys rock!**

**I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Walking down the busy streets of Konoha by herself, Naruto grinned. She could feel dozens of eyes following her movements, boys, men and the occasional female gaping in lust as she passed. She would occasionally wink and wave, wondering why they didn't hold the looks of disgust they held when she was a he.

Her train of thought soon drifted to when she took the Genin Exam yesterday, and how shocked Mizuki looked when she passed the test. However, the vain part of her believed it was because she turned into a beautiful female. Laughing, she considered if the moron would try to steal the Forbidden Scroll himself.

**"There _is _a chance of him becoming a pedophile…"**

Naruto started to choke in surprise, taken aback by the Kyuubi's random thoughts. _'Hey, dammit! What do you mean by that?'_

**"You aren't very observant," **Kyuubi began, adding to himself in a mutter, **_"_Seems that part of your personality has stayed the same-" **Before he could finish what he meant, Naruto cut him off.

_'What do you mean by that, are you insulting me?'_

**"Hm, the obliviousness has stayed as well. Kit, did you see the way he was eyeing you up and down? If he didn't still hate your guts, he would've ravished you then and there!" **

Widening her eyes in shock and disgust, Naruto suppressed the urge to shudder. _'Can we change the subject, I'm not in the mood to puke."_

Smirking in Naruto's mindscape, Kyuubi said viciously, **"Alright, answer me this. Why were you so flirty today, hormones acting up?" **Kyuubi teased, thoroughly amused.

Instantly flushing, and growling in annoyance, Naruto crossed her arms as she continued walking down the streets. Doing this accentuated her hefty chest, drawing more eyes in her direction.

_'Would you stop? I'm already going through enough, your teasing isn't helping!'_

**"I'm just amazed at how you went from a boy who didn't know flirting, even if it punched him in the face, to a girl who only ever flirts now." **

_'Just shut the hell up, fur ball! Maybe it's the change, who knows. When I get a chance, I'll ask Shinigami-sama for you,' _Naruto snarled sardonically, storming into the only food place that accepted her…as a boy.

Sitting at the counter, she greeted the old man and Ayame before ordering a large bowl of Miso Ramen. Waiting patiently for her food to cook, Naruto idly picked at her nails in boredom. Moments later, Sasuke pulled back the cloth and strode into the shop, sitting a few seats away from Naruto before ordering a bowl of Ham and Tomato Ramen.

"Sasuke, I didn't know you ate ramen." Smiling affably, Naruto was happy her ramen had arrived. Blowing to cool it off, she picked up her chopsticks, broke them, and whispered a silent 'Itadakimasu'. About to shovel a large amount into her awaiting mouth, Sasuke spoke up.

"…So…How, how are you going to help me become stronger?" He asked hesitantly, turning to face her.

Closing her mouth and lowering the chopsticks, Naruto let a small smile grace her lips. "As I told you before, I'm going to train you." She briefly looked in his direction before focusing on her food again.

"You'll train me?" He repeated, not understanding.

A tick appearing on her forehead in annoyance, she took a large bite of the ramen. Sighing in content, and the annoyance ebbing away, she replied. "Yes, but it depends on you."

Blinking in confusion, Sasuke asked, "What do you mean?"

"You must trust me, and not think you're always better than someone. Truth is, you're not the best."

After that, silence reigned, wherein Sasuke received his food from Ayame. Saying thanks, and doing as Naruto did before, he began to slowly eat. When he was half finished, and Naruto was on her third bowl, he finally looked in her direction.

Naruto raised a perfectly arched, golden eyebrow. "Wha?" She asked with a mouthful of food.

Shaking his head in silent amusement, Sasuke let a smirk take over his usually blank face. "…Nothing, I was just thinking about how we all assumed you were some happy-go-lucky idiot this whole time."

"You know what they say about assuming: you make an ass out of you and me." Brushing away her golden bangs, Naruto began to pout rather cutely.

"I mean, it's a little weird." When he noticed her expression, Sasuke started to chuckle. It was cold and clipped, and it sent a shiver down the blonde's back. "You're so much different than the dobe we're used to."

Naruto said nothing, still put-off by his chuckle. Knowing he had to continue, she ordered a fifth bowl of ramen while Sasuke finished.

"This has been bothering me, but why did you always try to challenge me while under the guise of a boy?"

The question caught her off guard, but she quickly came up with an answer. "Because, you looked pathetic." The crystal blue eyes of the blonde shone with an inner light at the raven.

Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed in anger at the blunt rudeness, "What?"

"Yeah. You always sulked, your own aloofness and hatred clouding your judgment and shrouding you in a dark aura. It disturbed me, and I wanted to break you out of that…state you were in. I'm not like those mindless fools, who only saw your appearance and dramatic setback, I saw- see the real you. I wanted to help you." After her little speech she shrugged, though Sasuke detected through her nonchalance her sincerity.

"Tomorrow at five." Was the last thing Naruto said, refocusing on her meal, never specifying if she meant in the morning or night.

Sasuke stared at Naruto as she continued to eat as if nothing happened; Sasuke was not worrying about her last statement, but the one before that. Not like those mindless fools. Not like those fan girls who only saw his looks and tough demeanor.

Confused, obsidian ice met deep, stirring blue waves.

Eyes.

Eyes that held no idolization.

Eyes that wanted to help.

Eyes that felt and understood his anger.

Eyes..

* * *

_"Sorry, Naruto." _

_Crying, Ino was crying?_

_Naruto coughed desperately, trying to expel the poison. He felt the venom in his throat, and clutched at it futilely. Screaming in his head, wishing the Kyuubi was there to heal him, he collapsed on the floor. Reaching to the people around him, his face started to change shades from its normal tan to a startling vermillion. _

_Sakura was watching him, her green eyes filled with tears. Looking into them, he noticed how regret and rage were battling it out before she settled on her anger. She stepped away from him, folding her arms in contempt. Lifting her nose in disdain, she turned around completely. _

_"It's you fault, it's because of you! You made all of this happen. Why, why did you do this, why did you turn me into the bad guy?" Sakura yelled, whipping around to land her piercing gaze on his prone form. _

_Sai was staring at the scene, his frame shaking, and his eyes filling with wetness. Touching the liquid in confusion, he quickly wiped it away and disregarded it. Though his eyes held no emotion, there was a small flicker of sadness that was soon overshadowed by blank disinterest. _

_Before he succumbed to his inevitable fate, he heard his final words ever. _

_"I hope you suffer in hell, you monster!"_

"…Shit!" Waking with a start, Naruto clutched her throat reflexively.

Panting and sweating, she shoved the covers off of her and placed her feet on the floor. She cursed to herself, before walking out of her room and into the kitchen to get a glass of water. Not bothering to turn on any lights, she opened the fridge. The kitchen suddenly flooded with light, and she gave herself a few seconds to adjust to the sudden brightness.

Taking out the carton of milk she took a swig, before wincing in disgust. Checking out the expiration date, she was not surprised to see that it had expired two days ago. Shaking her head, she slammed her forehead against the freezer, trying to dislodge the memories swirling around her head.

_'Suck it up!' _She mentally screamed before checking out the time on the stove- four AM. She headed for the shower.

She stood in the shower for a good twenty minutes, allowing the scalding hot water to cascade down her new body. She poked at her breast experimentally, noticing the small bud at the end of each. Naruto bent forward, staring at her vagina and how it differed greatly from the male genitalia.

"I don't have balls…" she murmured in surprise, hearing Kyuubi chuckle in the back of her mind.

She continued the inspection, poking and pinching every inch of her body she could reach. She soon realized that she was very flexible. Allowing the water to run down her face a moment, she turned the water off, grabbed her towel, and stepped out of the shower.

Drying off in her room, Naruto picked out the new clothes she was going to wear today. She decided on a sleeveless blue hood shirt with pockets in the lower center, dark blue shorts, and some blue Ninja sandals. She carefully tied her forehead protector around her forehead this time, and realized she needed to do something with her hair, since the golden bangs had obscured her vision and reminded her.

Naruto huffed in frustration, not knowing what to do with her luscious locks. Getting an idea, she treated her hair like it was rope, and tied it in a knot on the top of her head. When she raised her arms she realized how uncomfortable she felt with her breast just…hanging free. They felt heavy, and kept on bouncing all over the place. Huffing again in annoyance, she searched for some medical tape to wrap her chest, since she just couldn't let it hang out like when she was a boy.

Finding the medical tape and wrapping them up, as best as she could, Naruto let a small smile play at the edges of her lips. It was malicious and cold, something not normally associated with the bubbly blonde, boy or not.

Idiots beware, retribution is coming.

**"Idiots beware, retribution is coming," **Kyuubi repeated out loud, an evil smile showing his sharp canines.

Naruto jumped in surprise. _'YOU!' _She accused loudly, glaring at her reflection.

Her eyes morphed into a medium purple tone, before they bled to the crimson eyes of Kyuubi. Changing back to the blue just as quickly, she stopped narrowing her eyes and let her face go blank. The only sign of her irritation was the tenseness in her shoulders.

**"Isn't that what you wanted to say out loud?"**Questioned Kyuubi, snorting in laughter.

_'Stop teasing me, damn fox.'_

**"I resent that, I'm no ordinary fox, I'm the-"**

_'I know, the Kyuubi no blah, blah! Who cares? You live inside of me, not the other way around. I practically own you, especially since I don't make you pay rent! I have the right to call you a dog if I wanted." _

**"I'll have you know that I offer my vast know-" **

Naruto quickly blocked the fox out, knowing that Kyuubi's tirade could last for hours on end. Soon, the complaining died away, and Naruto left from her position in front of the mirror.

Stomach rumbling, she remembered Kakashi's suggestion and quickly disregarded it. Opening her pantry she took out a box of Instant Ramen. Smiling in satisfaction she quickly boiled some water. Once the water was bubbling, she poured the hot liquid into the Styrofoam cup, enjoying the smell that wafted into the room. Grabbing some chopsticks, she quickly tore into the noodles, ignoring the burning sensation in her throat. Drinking the broth and disposing of the food, she ran out the apartment building.

* * *

Sakura stretched her arms, closing her door behind her. Suppressing a yawn, she bit her lip to keep it in. Yawning, as she deemed, was such an ugly thing. And ugly things would not catch the right kind of attention from Sasuke. Bending forward to stretch some more, a yawn slipped past her lips, and she yawned again for good measure. Rubbing her face in aggravation, she adjusted her forehead-protector-turned-headband.

Glancing briefly at the sky, she noticed how the false dawn cast a wan light over the sky, real dawn still an hour away. The sky was still black, resembling the color of Sasuke's eyes, she thought dreamily. There was a tiny, dull light on the horizon, a pale yellow in color. The yellow made her think of the dumb blonde and she scowled instantly.

_'No need to get riled up so early in the morning,'_ She thought to herself, rubbing her eyes and walking down the street.

After a few minutes of silence, she heard a loud growling. Looking around frantically, she recognized it was her stomach and not some feral dog. A slight blush dusted her cheeks, and she thanked Kami that the streets of Konoha were deserted this early in the morning. She would've died if someone had heard that…nasty noise.

Rubbing her stomach mournfully, she continued on her way to the training ground. "I shouldn't have skipped dinner last night," She moaned to herself. "But it's whatever, I started this new diet last night that only allows me to eat salad once a day, and I wanted to look good for my Sasuke-kun."

Trying to stifle another yawn that threatened to escape her lips, she ran her fingers through her smooth, soft hair. Taking a lock of hair between her fingers she examined it critically for any spilt ends or other faults. _'I wonder if I should change my hair? I know Sasuke-kun likes long hair, but does he like it straight or wavy?'_

Flipping her hair back over her shoulder, she paused in her step. _'Oh, shit!' _She sprinted back the way she had come. She'd forgotten to apply make-up.

* * *

Sasuke stood with his back turned to the front door, his sharp eyes taking in the abandoned household he could see from his vantage point. To the left was the living room, and he only saw the vague outline of his couch in the inky blackness of his house. His kitchen was to the right, and he could see the soft glow of the time.

Four thirty AM.

Turning his back to his house, he yanked open the door and stepped out into the predawn light. His eyes adjusting to the small amount of light, Sasuke stepped forward and jumped onto the roof closest to his house.

Looking over the vast regal _emptiness _of the Uchiha District, a look of longing flashed underneath his eyes. Shaking the thoughts of want away, he turned his back.

With a light step, he was soon falling from the roof. His face blank and indifferent, his arms hung loosely by his side. Halfway down he kicked off the wall, using the momentum to turn his fall into a blindingly fast dash across the rooftops.

Jumping off the last rooftop, he soared for a few seconds before landing and taking off at a dead run towards Training Ground Seven. Arriving after the short sprint, he found Naruto already there. She was leaning lazily against a tree, her eyes drooping in boredom, her lashes brushing her scarred cheeks. She raised her head when she noticed he was staring, her cerulean eyes crinkling with a small smile, her golden hair shining against the slowly emerging dawn.

"Good morning Naruto," Sasuke broke the awkward silence with the formal greeting, nodding his head towards the blonde.

"Hey!" Giggling Naruto stood up. Allowing herself a few moments to stretch, and hearing the loud cracking of her back, Naruto spoke up again. "So, are you ready to start training?"

A look of incredulous disbelief settled behind the Uchiha's eyes before he schooled his features into a blank mask. "Now?" He raised an eyebrow, folding his arms.

"No, fifty years from tomorrow." Silence settled on the duo. "Yes now, idiot." She hissed, shaking her head in disdain at how the blatant sarcasm was lost on the raven.

Realizing his obvious lapse of judgment, his jaw tightened the tiniest bit- something Naruto caught. "Kakashi is going to-"

"He'll be two and a half hours late. Remember how we waited for him yesterday? Trust, it's a habit of his." Mockingly smiling at Sasuke, Naruto hit his shoulder playfully. "So, ready?"

Sasuke thought over the invitation for a moment before allowing a smirk to remain on his otherwise blank face. "Let's do this. What will you teach me first?"

"Today we'll start with chakra-control." Rubbing her hands together in a sinister manner, a small chuckle slipped past the blonde's plump lips. She lead the boy to the wooded area behind the three posts staked into the ground.

_'This is going to be fun.' _Naruto thought evilly, smirking in pleasure.

0O0

Naruto was staring at something on the ground. She poked it lightly with her foot, before she slammed her foot into its side. Flinching with a start, Sasuke shot his death glare at the boy-turned-girl, the glare intensifying as he noticed her look of enjoyment. Sasuke was sprawled on his back, trying to regulate his breathing once again.

Two hours of nonstop tree-climbing made him extremely exhausted. Through that feeling, however, another feeling quickly blossomed and overshadowed the tiredness. Accomplishment. He was grinning, realizing that all of this was worth it.

The face of Naruto suddenly appeared above him again, blocking out the morning sun. A blinding smile was plastered on her face, making her eyes turn into upside-down U's.

"Well done," she praised, extending a hand towards the boy.

Sasuke considered the hand for a moment, contemplating if he would take it to aide him. Face going blank for a second, Sasuke realized the large symbolism from the small gesture. He grabbed the hand, hauling himself off the rough forest floor.

Naruto's smile, if possible, became larger and brighter. She offered him a bottle of water, her smile losing a few watts, but still sincere.

"You're almost there, but your progress is amazing! Being able to reach half of the tree in only two hours-" the blonde trailed off, at a loss of words.

Sasuke eagerly took the bottle, gulping down the refreshing liquid and basking in the praise. He directed the conversation to her, praising her. "It's nothing compared to how you've already mastered it," Sasuke replied easily, thoughts drifting to the fact that he would be able to walk up trees with little problem in no time.

Naruto grinned, ignoring the sudden heat that threatened to spill across her face. Folding her hands behind her head, like she used to do as a boy, she was about to speak when a large growl broke the awkward silence. Looking at Sasuke's stomach, she dug into her pocket and took out a wrapped bundle. Unwrapping it she pulled out a few onigiri.

"Here, have some." She held out one to Sasuke, taking a bite out of her pork flavored one.

"Kakashi said we shouldn't eat breakfast, Naruto."

A sly smirk appeared on Naruto's face as she chewed thoughtfully. "Are you sure? He _suggested _that we skip breakfast, not that we couldn't eat at all." A mischievous glint twinkled in her vivid blue eyes as she pulled out another one and chomped on it happily.

Sasuke said nothing else as he took the proffered onigiri and took a bite. Soon he held a smirk as well. It was okaka and tomato onigiri, which was his absolute favorite. He briefly wondered how Naruto knew what his favorite food was, but quickly brushed it aside.

Out of the blue, "So who's your big sister now?" Naruto questioned with a giggle.

It took a moment for Sasuke to understand what the girl meant. He frowned, "What? You aren't-"

"From now on you will listen to what your big sister says, okay? I mean, I'm a girl now, which means I automatically have more knowledge than you," Naruto said smugly, reveling in the shocked look that flashed across the Uchiha's normally stoic visage.

"I'm months older than you! And I resent that, you're still a dobe, boy or girl!" Sasuke snarled indignantly, feeling his pride wounded.

"Age ain't nothing but a number, hun," Naruto purred seductively, leaning close to Sasuke's face. She bit her lip, her blue eyes widening, giving her a cute pout look.

"Stop it," Sasuke muttered, feeling blood rush to more areas than just his face. He lightly pushed her away, a hint of a smile playing across his pale lips.

When Naruto and Sasuke arrived at the training grounds again, they found Sakura slowly dozing off. Naruto walked over to the three training posts, sitting on top of the middle one. Sasuke just shrugged his shoulders and leaned against the one on the left. Sakura, seeing her longtime crush, immediately perked up, wiping away any traces of her momentary sleep induced stupor. When her eyes landed on the blonde she snarled in loathing, her stomach doing the same in hunger.

Ten, silent minutes later, the abnormally tall Jounin poofed into the clearing. "Yo." Was his simple reply, the dreaded orange book clasped tightly in his hand.

"You're late!" Sakura screeched, enraged at her sensei's behavior. She then began ranting about proper etiquette and how being on time showed respect and willingness to be at the place specified. Everyone else sweat dropped and ignored the pinkette until she finally tired herself out.

Kakashi cleared his throat in frustration, glaring at the pinkette for a moment, and began to explain what the exam would entail.

He held up two small bells. "Your assignment is very simple. Just take these bells from me. You have 'till noon. If you don't get a bell, you don't get lunch."

"So that's why you said not to eat breakfast!" Shouted Sakura, grimacing at the sharp hunger pang. Next to her Naruto and Sasuke shared slightly guilty looks, though underneath Naruto's mask of sympathy was an evil joy at the pinkette's misery.

"There's only two bells, sensei." Sakura's expression was a cross between pain and confusion, the pain slowly winning out.

_'Thank you, Captain Obvious.' _Naruto thought bitterly, narrowing her eyes a little.

"Oh, right. I also forgot to mention, besides not getting lunch, you'll have to revoke your ninja license and immediately go back to the Academy." Pausing for effect he continued, "There's a sixty-six percent chance of failing."

The two Genin widened their eyes in shock, will Naruto merely rolled hers.

"Scare tactics?" She asked bitingly, inspecting a chipped nail. Sakura and Sasuke glanced in her direction before turning back to Kakashi, who was currently inspecting the blonde before him.

"Uh, you can use any weapons, skills, and jutsu you know. If you don't come at me with the intent to kill, you won't be able to get a bell."

"B-but sensei, that's too dangerous! We could seriously hurt you!" Sakura shouted in bewilderment, green eyes wild and fearful.

Kakashi chuckled at the naivety of the pinkette. "When I say start we begin."

He raised his hand to ruffle his hair, discreetly doing a hand seal behind his book. With a small poof, an identical pair of bells sat in his palm. He combed his fingers through his hair before placing the fake bells in his left pocket, the real ones clutched in the hand holding his precious hentai.

Naruto noticed all of this.

"Start!" He exclaimed lazily, face still hidden behind the book.

Dropping a smoke bomb at her feet, Naruto jumped away, the thick smoke obscuring her movements. Sasuke used the smoke to hide as well, rolling away to take cover in the trees. Quickly walking up one, Sasuke thanked Naruto repeatedly for helping him with the exercise. Naruto landed on the tree branch beside him, shushing him with her finger when he almost yelped in surprise.

Sakura, not knowing what to do, fled from the area. She ran towards the shrubs outlining the field, hiding behind a random bush. She was panting heavily and looking around for her precious Sasuke-kun. Not finding him in her line of vision, panic soon seized her movements. She stumbled through the bushes, calling out his name.

"Why is he just standing there reading? Is this a joke?" Sasuke whispered to Naruto, a thick undertone of irritation flooding his words.

Naruto didn't say anything, instead eyeing the Jounin before her critically. _'I can change this test to my favor, since I know what happens next.' _

As the thought flowed through her mind, Kakashi soon disappeared out of the clearing.

_'I could help Sakura from the mental turmoil she's about to go through, but…I don't feel like it.'_ Nartuo jumped from the branch she was perched on, beckoning behind her for Sasuke to follow. She soon picked up the familiar scent of Kakashi, and followed it silently.

0O0

Sakura futilely tried to swallow the panic that was making her jumpy. She quickly whirled around, hearing a bush rustle behind her. She held the kunai and flash bang with a death grip, her knuckles whitening from the stress.

Hearing moaning sounds, that sounded vaguely familiar, Sakura rushed to the noise. Sakura gasped in shock before a scream bubbled to her lips and pushed out. The silence that had originally enclosed the training grounds was shattered by Sakura's horrified scream.

Leaning against the tree was Sasuke, but that wasn't what was making her scream. It was how he looked, mangled and bloody. Kunai and shuriken were protruding from his slowly bleeding form, and his left arm and both legs were twisted in a disgusting manner. Bone was poking out of his chest, more than likely a rib, and a Fuuma Shuriken was shoved into his stomach.

Reaching out his right arm, some of the fingers missing, Sasuke slowly moaned "Sa-Saku-ra! Help, m-me."

Screaming once again, she fainted from the horrid sight, her body hitting the ground with a thud.

Kakashi could only shake his head in disdain.

0O0

A terrified scream tore through the air, making Sasuke and Naruto flinch from the intensity. Stopping in their pursuit of Kakashi, Sasuke turned his piercing gaze onto Naruto.

"What the _hell_?"

Naruto blinked. "I think it's Sakura."

"Well should we help her?"

"No, because I have a plan."

Slightly put-off by Naruto's disregard of Sakura, Saskue harbored a look of doubt.

"Don't worry," Naruto consoled, shaking her head, "She'll wake up soon. She just saw something…disturbing." Putting her hand into the familiar seal that had become second nature to her, Naruto formed five Kage Bunshins. "While you attack him in the front, I'll send these Kage Bunshin to ambush him from the back. Then I'll swoop in and take the bells."

Sasuke nodded before him and Naruto dashed out of their hiding place, the clones right behind the original.

After tormenting Sakura, and enjoying it immensely, Kakashi Shunshined into the clearing the test began in. He was still holding the orange book, giggling every few moments. The giggling was soon replaced by a tired sigh, eyes flicking to the rapidly approaching chakra signature for a moment, before concentrating on his book once more.

Hearing the slight whiz of kunai zipping through the air, Kakashi lazily stepped to the side to avoid the barrage. Growling in frustration at Kakashi's nonchalance, Sasuke formed some hand seals, ending on tiger.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Making a ring with his index finger and thumb, Sasuke expelled the large fire from his mouth towards his sensei, who ran straight into the blaze, disappearing

The hot stream ignited the grass and tore out a crater in the dirt. Rushing forward, Sasuke covered his face with his arms and jumped straight through the lingering flames. Breaking through, and coughing slightly from the intense smoke, he stepped into the still smoldering crater his jutsu had left.

Sasuke looked around desperately. _'Where is he?' _Kicking something as he continued walking forward, he looked down at the charred remains of a log. An unmistakable smiley face was carved into the wood.

"That was very impressive. You have a great deal of chakra for one so young," an amused voice called out seemingly from every direction. Whirling around, Sasuke came face to chest with Kakashi, whose book was held almost protectively against his chest. "You almost burnt my book!"

A kick slammed into Sasuke's right side, completely unexpected.

"Rule One of a Ninja: Never turn your back to an opponent," Kakashi stated lazily, attacking Sasuke with little effort, breaking through his defenses.

_'Come on,'_ Sasuke thought urgently, trying to hold up some type of defense against the onslaught. _'Where are you, dobe?'_ He took a particularly nasty kick to the face, his lip splitting open in the process. Spitting out the blood flooding his mouth, anger coursed through his body.

"Maybe you should listen to your own advice!" Five loud, identical voices shouted.

Glancing behind him, Kakashi raised his eyebrow in slight surprise when he saw the clones. _'Hm, when did Naruto learn that?' _

"GO!" The clones yelled, rushing towards the lazy Jounin. They began to throw sloppy punches and kicks at Kakashi, who easily dodged.

"You need to work on your form, Naruto," Kakashi advised, giggling at the end when he read the next passage of his porn.

Sasuke charged his teacher from behind, kunai in hand, and started to thrust rapidly in front of him. His aim was pointed towards the general vicinity of his teacher's belly, as if trying to skewer him.

Kakashi rolled his eye at the predictability of the Uchiha, easily side-stepping the futile attempts…right into Naruto's roundhouse kick. He widened his eye, surprised he was pushed into a trap, and brought up his arm to block his head. The kick was chakra reinforced, nearly numbing his entire arm.

Kakashi flipped backwards and grinned, shaking his arm out to get the feeling back. He knew that Sasuke would never willingly go to anyone for help, let alone _Naruto_. The boy was an Uchiha, the most prideful of Konoha's many clans. He wouldn't have acknowledged the need for help had he been dying.

_'So why…? Ah, for a pretty lady._" Kakashi openly chuckled, thoroughly amused.

Naruto and Sasuke abruptly backed off, sharing a look between the two. Kakashi glared at them quizzically, instantly on his guard again. He didn't understand why they were stopping, since they were obviously working together. The Jounin narrowed his eyes. There was some detail that he was missing.

The only Naruto left, since the other four had been dispelled, stood besides Sasuke in a defensive stance. She passed something to the last Uchiha in Konoha, and suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke.

_'Kage Bunshin? Shit, how'd I miss that?' _

The real Naruto flew down from the canopy of a tree, leg positioned in an axe kick. Blue chakra was swirling around the leg, condensing into a powder blue cloud. Kakashi glanced at it, quickly thought of Tsunade punching him playfully, and then dodged at the last second.

The resulting crater was five feet deep and three feet in diameter; Kakashi was just out of the impact zone. In the distance the timer went off, and Kakashi sighed in relief- that is until he saw what was in Sasuke's hand.

"…" Kakashi stared at his two students, utterly speechless. He snapped his book shut and put it away in his pouch. Unbeknownst to him, he also placed the real bells in his pouch, allowing another Naruto Clone the opportunity to snatch them while he was distracted.

Two puffs of smoke, one behind and in front of the shocked Jounin, resounded in the deathly silent clearing. Sasuke stared at his hand and noticed the bells had gone, while Kakashi's mortification morphed into silent glee.

_'Phew, for a second I thought they-'_

"Looking for these?" Naruto held up a pair of glinting metal balls, a mischievous smile on her face, a twinkle in her eyes.

She tossed one to Sasuke, and kept one for herself. "Check inside your pouch," she stated, nodding towards the container.

Surreptitiously feeling inside his pouch, though he knew Naruto was watching him like a hawk, his hand only brushed against his Icha Icha, a few kunai, some medical tape, and some soldier pills. Never the bells.

"I had a Kage Bunshin hidden behind you when you made a duplicate of the bells." Was all Naruto said, a smirk in place of the smile.

Whatever he'd been expecting, this had not been it.

* * *

Sakura was still passed out on the ground when Kakashi and his two new students found her. Kakashi shook her gently, not getting a response, before roughly shoving her shoulder. Sill not rousing the out cold Kunoichi, Kakashi nodded to Naruto.

"SAKURA, SASUKE NEEDS YOUR HELP! INO-PIG IS TRYING TO TAKE HIM AWAY!"

Sakura woke with a start, gasping and bolting upright, before feminine fury seeped across her slightly pale face. "INO-PIG!" She screeched, startling the Jounin and two other Genin. "I'M GOING TO KI-" In that moment her eyes landed on Sasuke, and she promptly grabbed onto him.

"Oh Sasuke-kun!" She blubbered, taking in huge gulps of air after her little…lapse in sanity. "It was _so _terrible! You were bleeding so much, and you were broken almost everywhere with weapons sticking out, and I…" She gibbered on, unaware that no one was really listening nor really cared.

"Stop hugging me." Sasuke grumbled, using all of his strength to get out of Sakura's death grip.

The silver haired Jounin turned his piercing gaze on all of them. "Blondie and Brooder," Kakashi addressed, pointing to each in turn, "You will stay and have lunch. Sakura, I'm sorry but you will have to go back to the academy for another year. After lunch I would like your Ninja License and Forehead Protector so I can return the items," Kakashi said solemnly, though his eyes showed otherwise.

"But, but it's not fair!" She cried in despair, not wanting to let Sasuke and Naruto be alone.

"You passed out during the test from a weak genjutsu…Something an Academy Student could dispel. Also, I'm afraid you won't get lunch either, and I'm going to have to tie you to a training post." Kakashi grabbed the pinkette by her scrawny arm and dragged her to the middle training post, pulling out some rope and tying her there.

Turning away from the silently sniffling girl, Kakashi held out two bento boxes. "Here is your food. Go ahead and eat, as you will need your strength." With a small wave he turned and began to leave. "Oh, one last thing." Turning his head, he glared fiercely at the two attempting to eat under the sudden wave of killing intent. "Sakura doesn't get any lunch. If you give her any food I will fail you two immediately. Do you understand?"

Nodding dumbly the Genin were able to push out stuttered yeses. Nodding back at them, Kakashi dissolved into smoke and disappeared.

Naruto, completely disregarding her sensei's orders, picked up a rice ball and walked toward Sakura. "Here, you shouldn't have to go hungry. Plus, starting a new diet drains a lot of energy, especially your kinds of diets."

"I don't need it!" Sakura hissed, wondering in the back of her mind how Naruto- _'The dobe'_, she stressed- knew about her eating habits.

Naruto stepped back, a mock hurt expression on her face. "Your loss…" she trailed off, backing up some more.

Having been eating his lunch quietly, Sasuke huffed in frustration. In one fluid movement he had put his chopsticks down and glared at Sakura. "Why are you being so rude? Just take the damn thing."

"Sa-Sasuke-kun…?" Sakura flinched at her idol's scold, a wounded expression overtaking her reluctance. As soon as she looked at Naruto, hate just manifested in her eyes.

_'I hate you too.'_ Naruto thought nastily, pushing the ball of rice in her face once more.

Sakura rolled her eyes, the hate dissipating, then took a tiny nibble from the rice ball in Naruto's hand.

**"YOU!" **A sudden thunderous voice from above made Sakura yelp and Sasuke freeze. Naruto dropped the ball in her hands, thinking the Kyuubi had broken free of the seal.

**"You disobeyed me."** Dark, ominous clouds began to manifest in the once clear sky, thunder crashing, and lightning striking a nearby tree and setting it aflame.

Amidst the roiling clouds a shape began to form, which morphed into the vague outline of Kakashi and his gravity defying hair. More features began to appear and sharpen until it resembled Kakashi's masked face.

**"Ninja who disobey orders are scum,"** the now identified Kakashi roared, his voice echoing all around. Waves of killing intent, much stronger than what he sent before, began radiating from its intense visage. **"That means…"**

"You pass!" As if it had never been there, the storm passed. The clouds went back to their peaceful white, the thunder and lightning ceased, and the inflamed tree was back to normal.

Kakashi stood before the Genin with a big eye smile and a peace sign.

All the Genin could do was faint.

"What?" Sakura squeaked.

"You pass."

"I don't understand." Sasuke blurted out while Naruto stayed quiet.

"Ninja who disobey orders are scums." Kakashi paused for emphasis. "But ninja who abandon their comrades are even worse than scums. You chose to help each other, and Sakura you chose to accept that help. That is why you pass."

Sakura cheered happily. Sasuke gave a smirk at Naruto. Naruto Naruto merely blinked.

"Well, that's for today." Making an eye-smirk Kakashi continued. "Tomorrow we'll start missions."

"Oh, finally." Smirking Sasuke let out his very rare exclamation.

Sakura murmured something like farewell before she quickly dismissed herself. She had to check her make-up and hair.

Kakashi carefully watched as Naruto picked her things up and prepared to leave. Hmme, so the old obnoxious, loud–mouthed hyperactive idiot, who was always arguing and trying to compete has totally vanished away.. It was a mask. Now there was a calm, strong, smart, pheromone-ball girl...

Which one is the real?

Only Kami-sama knows. And maybe Yondaime, too.

Also, the jounin could not help being amazed at the girl's control over the Uchiha. How did she manage to bring the boy out from his dark, cold shell?

_'Girls.. Girls.. They just don't stop shocking people..' _Thinking Kakashi glaced over at the girl's sun-kissed hair. '_She'll be an inspiration of hundreds and thousands of perverts when she grows up.. Man, I just hope she won't be like Tsunade-sama..'_

Kakashi nearly flinched when Naruto jumped in front of him breaking him from his reverie.

"See you tomorrow, sensei." Naruto spoke up, her breathtakingly deep blue eyes shining gently.

"Yeah, see ya." Sasuke waved his hand at his sensei.

Kakashi blinked._ 'Hoh__, what a surprise..'_

"Yeah, see you tomorrow, brats." The copy-ninja chuckled when he saw Sasuke's expression shifted into a scowl for calling them 'brats'.

"And don't forget to brush your teeth after you eat dango, sensei." Waving her hand Naruto walked away, soon followed by Sasuke.

"..."

Remained alone, Hatake Kakashi blinked a bit quizzically. '_How the hell does she know that I eat dango every night with my icha-icha?'_

* * *

Sasuke looked at the streaming water in front of him then back at Naruto who was sitting comfortably on the rock.

The blonde flashed him an encouraging grin.

Sasuke gulped before questioning."Do you have any pointers?"

"Hun, maybe few. Maintain a constant amount of chakra on your feet if you want to be able to walk on the water successfully. Unlike the tree, water is constantly moving. You'll have to account for that." Came the thoroughly amused voice of the blondie.

Sasuke nodded and tried it, only to fall straight into the water and jump out, wet and gasping.

Naruto burst into laughter. "You look like a rat who'd just escaped from the sewer."

Sasuke growled. "Don't laugh." he muttered. Nevertheless, he tried again..

and again.. and again.

As Naruto watched the boy she smiled, albeit a little sadly, remembering when it was she who'd been struggling to walk on water and Ebisu-sensei the one teaching her.

Yeah, it wasn't Kakashi who'd taught her…

_[Hey, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto called, running through the hospital. It was the day after his fight with Kiba. "Ne, ne, I have a favor to ask." _

_Kakashi held up a hand. "You don't have to say anything more Naruto. I had a feeling you'd come to me sooner or later..."_

_Naruto grinned, barely restraining the urge to jump up and in excitement. Kakashi-sensei, one of the best Jounin ever was going to teach him. He'd finally be getting some real training in. Ye-_

_"...Which is why I found someone else to supervise your training." Kakashi finished._

_Naruto wilted. "Why?" he cried out, both angry and hurt at the same time. He was Kakashi-sensei's student, wasn't he entitled to some training? "I want you to train me Kakashi-sensei, not some random Jounin."_

_Kakashi stared at him evenly. "I have something else to do so I don't have time to look after you." he answered._

_Naruto huffed bitterly. He knew what the 'something else' was that Kakashi had to do. It was the same 'something else' that every teacher he'd ever known had to do as well. He wondered why he'd ever thought that Kakashi'd be any different. "I get it." he said. "You going to train Sasuke aren't you." he accused, pointing a finger into Kakashi's face._

_Kakashi's face didn't change. "Don't get mad Naruto. I found a much better teacher for you than me."_

_Naruto tensed. Don't get mad? Why shouldn't he? He was being passed up for that bastard of an Uchiha. Again. Kakashi had found him a teacher to get him out of the way. And so what if this teacher was good and knew a bunch of stuff. He wasn't Naruto's sensei. He wasn't Kakashi..._

_"Fine, I have something else to do, too!" Shouting angrily he turned and stormed away._

_Kakashi picked up his book and sighed…]_

"Hey, dobe!"

"..!"

Naruto nearly sprang up when she realized that Sasuke's face was directly in front of hers.

"Teme, I'm frightened!" Placing her hand onto her chest Naruto accused, letting a palor to expand over her face.

Sasuke felt a heat flaring over his face at the defensive pose of the girl, but quickly brushed it away and spoke. "I asked you if you're ok." His eyes twitched with a concern. "I mean.. You suddenly seemed to be somewhat.. Gloomy."

Naruto took a deep breath, trying to hold her mind from trailing back to memory. _Suck. This. Up!_

"Ne.. I'm fine. So now let's see what you've done."

"I think I got it."

Naruto shook herself out of her morbid musings to look at Sasuke who had indeed managed to stay standing upright on the water.

"Good! Now walk around the circumference five times without falling."

Twenty minutes later, after Sasuke managed to achieve 'walking on the water'_ Which in outcome caused the boy to be all wet_, Naruto thumbed up at the boy. "You're a good student, as always."

"I'm always a good student. " Sasuke smirked. "Rookie 1."

"Modesty is the most valuable thing." Snorting Naruto crossed her arms. "Well that's for today. I'll see you tomorrow."

Sasuke picked up his bag, and cocked his head towards one side and eyed the girl. "Aren't you.. going home?"

"I need a place to contemplate. And this is a perfect place." Giggling Naruto waved her hand. "See ya."

Sasuke seemed to hesitate for a while. But soon he gave a curt nod. "Ok. See you tomorrow." Then he walked away with a quick pace.

After the boy's slender figure had completely faded away, Naruto threw a glance at the water stream and opened her unconscious mind. Immediately the legendary demon fox's random thoughts rang up.

**'You know, you don't have to be a cry-baby, kit. Tst.'**

An unfitting scowl rose upon the girl's rather cute face._ 'I'm not crying, what make you think so, you sucker!'_

**'Really?'** The legendary fox snorted.**'I'll give you an advice: Stop pestering yourself with those memories. It won't help.'**

_'What do you mean?" _Naruto asked a bit quizzically.

**'Come on kit, roll your brain and think about it. Some of those memories will indeed help you. But some will make you lose your head and you'll end up crushing everyone, whether they are the ones who're gonna betray you in the future or not.'**

Naruto rolled her eyes, her golden eyebrows furrowing. _'I.. don't understand.'_

**'I hate brats...'** Sighing the demon continued.** 'You had precious people for you, but now you're sent back in time. You and they don't have any trusts, or friendships yet. With that fact, if you keep on chewing how you were hurted by their careless words or actions in your former life, you'll eventually end up hating them. I don't think it will ever stop hurting. You got a shitty deal when the gods decided to send you back in time. Deal with it.'**

Naruto considered the words for moments.

Damn the demon sounded right. Shitty old fox.

_'You know, Kyuubi, you really sounds old.'_

**'What do you mean?'** Kyuubi sounded somewhat irritated.

Chuckling Naruto sprang up and threw herself into the stream.

**'What are you doing? Are you gonna commit suicide, idiot?'**

_'Be quiet. I'm just enjoying this.'_

**'****You ****masochistic ****brat****..'**

Ignoring the fox's grumbling Naruto deposited herself to the fast stream of river, feeling cool both outside and inside.

Only after she felt like she was completely washed away from memories she jumped out from the water and landed on the muddy ground.

Whistling Naruto straightened herself up, feeling so fresh, and that was when a sudden small voice from behind caught her.

"Na-Naruto-chan?" A timid voice asked from the water's edge.

Naruto looked back, her eyes searching for the speaker. Pinpointing the small frame of a child, with spiky brown hair, she soon recognized Konohamaru.

_'Oh my! Konohamaru…it's been years since I've seen you so…young.' _

"Hey!" Letting a grin spread across her flushed face, Naruto waved her dainty hand at the small boy. "Konohmaru, how did you know.." Trailing off, she hoped Konohamaru understood.

"Everyone was talking about you actually being a girl," Konohamaru said nervously, staring at Naruto's golden cascade of hair that was sticking to her wet form.

"Oh yeah." Smiling crookedly Naruto turned back, facing the stream. Konohamaru noticed how it didn't reach her eyes. "So..?"

Konohamrau nervously approached her, one hand holding a jar of jam, the other reaching out timidly to Naruto's shoulder. "I- onee-chan, what were you doing in the water?"

"Me?" She murmured quietly, seemingly lost in thought, a golden eyebrow arched. "I was just practicing, how to swim. Though I don't really need to." Konohamaru heard the smile in her tone.

A clumsy silence followed between the two. Naruto quite enjoyed it, letting it spread between the two. Konohamaru, on the other hand, felt helpless by it, like a gap was dividing them.

"Onee-chan. We.. We're still as usual, right?"

Naruto made no obvious movement, only tensing her shoulders slightly. The despair in the child's voice tugged at her heart, reminding her of how she used to be as a male. Shaking away the thoughts, she turned to the boy. A smile pulled up the corners of her lips, and she ruffled Konohamaru's hair.

"Of course! Isn't it better to have an older sister to care like a mother, than a boss who was loud?" The smile reached her eyes this time, causing Konohamaru to blush and his eyes to shine in earnest.

"Re-really?"

"Yeah, I don't know why you thought otherwise."

"Because.." Konohamaru looked down in embarrasment. "Girls don't play with boys."

Naruto suppressed a chuckle. "That's foolish." A random thought flew into the blonde's mind and out her mouth. "Well I want to fly away now."

"Can you fly, onee-chan?" Asked the boy in a worshipping manner, because in his eyes Naruto could do _anything_.

Naruto spread her arms and threw her head back, a soft sigh escaping her lips. "You think so? Must I try?"

"Konohamaru." A sudden gruff voice made the little boy flinch, while Naruto lowered her arms and head. As a reflex, Konohamaru dropped his jam jar, causing it to fall on the stony brook below and shatter.

"Gaki, what are you doing here?" Slurring his words together at the end, Asuma stopped advancing and just stared. Naruto was soaked to the bone as Konohamaru stared longingly at his jar.

"Good afternoon, Asuma-sensei." Naruto suddenly sounded bored.

During the awkward exchange, Konohamaru bent down and began to pick up the broken pieces. Tears were brimming his expressive brown eyes, and he was swallowing thickly. A large hand grabbed his tiny wrist.

"Leave it there, or your hands will get hurt."

"But onee-chan-" Konohamaru started before looking at Naruto.

Naruto's attention was focused on the bearded Jounin. Her eyes were half-lidded, and she wore an expression of utter boredom. Beneath the boredom, however, flashed an emotion neither could pinpoint. When she noticed them staring into her eyes, she lowered her head, her golden hair catching in the breeze and dancing to its inaudible tune.

Minutes later Asuma broke the strange silence. "Well Naruto, it's a surprise to see you looking so calm by this.. development. Anyway, see you around. Konohamaru, Hokage-sama wants to see you."

"You're bleeding," Naruto murmured as she clutched Konohamaru's hand.

Konohamaru immediately held his breath as the elder girl's plump lips came close to the bleeding digit. However, before the lips contacted with the skin, Naruto drew backward, smiling wryly.

"No, it's your future girlfriend's place to do this. Go and get a band-aid."

She took a step towards the water before standing there a few moments. Glancing back, she began walking away. Almost falling into the river in surprise, but _years _of experience preventing her, she found the small form of Konohamaru hugging her waist. He was clinging onto her, in fear and want, he couldn't stand on the water yet.

"What the-?" Asuma rolled his eyes at his nephew's childish behavior, staring at the scene in front of him. A little boy clutching an older girl.

Wrapping an arm around the boy's shoulder, Naruto cocked her head and stared at the Jounin.

Asuma found himself gulping. _'No, I'm thinking too much.'_

Yes, maybe he was just imagining the emotion flaring in Naruto's blue orbs.

But..

Twelve year old girls don't say things like, 'No, it's your future girlfriend's place to do this.'

Twelve year old girls don't try to allay the younger boys' cut with their lips.

Twelve year old girls don't hold such looks in their eyes when facing an older man_ such mocking, daring looks.

**I'm open to any suggestionS/criticisms. However, flaming won't be appreciated.**

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Review please!**


	4. Land of wave arc A

**A/N: Sorry I'm late. I've been so busy with so many problems.**

**This chapter wasn't betaed, for my beta is currently busy. So I apologize for spellings&grammars. :)**

**I was really happy for your reviews and faves&alerts. Thank you! You guys rock! XD**

**Hope this chapter will be enjoyable for you!**

* * *

"Sasuke, I'm at point B."

"Sakura, I'm at point C."

"Naruto, I'm at point A."

"Okay, Squad 7."

A black beast leapt from a tree into the bushes below.

"The target has moved! Follow it."

"Over there." The blonde whispered through her earpiece.

"What's your distance from the target?" Came the silver haired jōunin's voice.

"5 Meters." Naruto replied, "I'm ready, just give the signal."

"I'm ready too." voiced the confident Sasuke.

"So am I." Sakura spoke up.

"Okay…now!" Kakashi ordered.

The three genin sprang from their hiding places at the beast.

"I got him, I got him!" Naruto exclaimed vividly as she hugged the.. cat.

The cat squirmed for few moments but soon stayed quietly in the blonde's arm.

"Can you verify ribbon on right ear?" Kakashi's voice came from the headphones.

"Affirmative, we got a positive I.D." Sasuke replied, watching the cat in the blonde's arms.

"Right. Lost pet Tora: Captured. Mission accomplished."

"Cant we get a better mission than this? I hate cats!" Sakura yelled down the frequency, giving everyone a headache.

* * *

"Awwwwwwww my poor little Tora. Mama was so worried about your naughty little fuzzy face." Team 7's captive was in the process of becoming a pancake against its owner's face.

"No wonder he ran away." Sasuke murmured shaking his head.

"Now then, for Squad 7's next mission we have several available tasks." The Third Hokage called to Squad 7 over the screams of the poor cat. "Among them: Babysitting the chief-counsellor's 3 year old.."

_'I hate babes.'_ Thought Sasuke in dismay.

"Helping his wife to do the shopping, digging up potatoes at…"

"Can't we do more real mission?" Sakura interrupted, not wanting to do such thing as digging potatoes in front of Sasuke.

Kakashi put on a belligerent face as Iruka jumped out of his seat and started yelling at the pinkette. "You're still a beginner ninja! All beginners have to start with easy missions first."

"But_"

Watching the scene Naruto smirked inwardly. Then crossing her legs in her chair, she looked up at the adults with an innocent damsel's look. "But.. I thought we could do a mission with some more.. action..?"

Sandaime blinked, holding his pipe. "Naruto? You're still a recently-become genin. All beginners have to start with easy missions."

"Yeah, but.." Slurring the end of her words Naruto glanced at Sasuke.

Sasuke cleared his throat, not knowing why he was clearing his throat.

"We want a mission at least something like.. escort, maybe." Naruto continued, rolling her large blue eyes and pouting rather cutely.

Kakashi turned to stare at his students and upon seeing Naruto's expression, he began to chuckle.

Iruka gulped before he threw a glance at the scrolls on the third's desk.

"Well I guess we have a C-ranked mission here.."

The third blinked again. "Iruka?"

"Really?" Naruto's eyes widened happily. "Arigato, Iruka-sensei!"

"Ah.. Well.. Yeah.. I mean.." Iruka began to sweat-drop, his hand scratching the back of his head.

Sasuke's eyes twitched at the Academy teacher but did not speak otherwise.

"Well I'd never thought of giving C-ranked mission to my students." Kakashi was the one who interrupted, his voice unusually serious.

Everyone turned to stare at the silver-haired jounin.

Naruto stilled and looked up. She knew that tone. She looked at her teacher and suppressed a wince. She knew that look too.

"Ah..?" She winced, wondering what she'd done to warrant her teacher's ire. Kakashi was looking seriously _pissed._

"Sensei?" Sakura muttered anxiously.

"What's the matter, Kakashi-san?" Iruka asked, also looking pissed.

"Iruka-san," Kakashi said his voice hardening, "They aren't your students anymore. _Do not interfere_."

Iruka glared at him. "I will interfere if I think that is what's best for my students Kakashi-san and think that you are entering them into this too soon!"

"Mind say that again?" The jounin raised his silver eyebrow, a growl escang from his throat.

A tensed silence stretched out in the Hokage's office, freezing the three genin. _What the hell?_

Then Sandaime broke the awkward silence away. "Kakashi, Iruka. What are you _doing_?"

Both teachers nearly flinched, as if the some kind of strange spell that had been looming into them has broken. They both cleared their throats embarrassingly.

_'What the hell was wrong with me?'_ Sighing inwardly Kakashi ruffled his own hair.

"Very well, team 7." The third picked up another scroll.

Naruto allowed herself to breathe a small sigh of relief. She'd gotten the C-rank mission to Wave. Good.

* * *

Once back in her apartment, Naruto brought out big ninja bag and began to pack for tomorrow's mission.

**'You are doing it on purpose, aren't you?'**

Naruto nearly dropped the shuriken onto her feet._ 'Stop suddenly speaking up! You're frightening me!'_

**'Hoh?' **The fox chuckled darkly. **'You _frightened_? So you're really becoming a girl_'**

_'Shut up, fur ball! It's not my fault, it's..'_

**'Alright, then answer this one. Was that on purpose?'**

Growling Naruto turned to stare at herself into the looking-glass. _'What are you talking about?'_

Kyuubi sounded like as if he's yawning. **'The little incident in the old fool's office today, gaki.'**

_'What do you mea_'_

**'Even days ago. You were acting quite provocative to the old man's son.'**

Naruto blinked. _'Asuma?'_

**'Yeah, brat. I can see it clearly that you're trying to turn any men into pedophiles_'**

Blushing furiously and growling, Naruto blocked the fox entirely out of her mind and headed to the kitchen to get an instant ramen.

After finishing her ramen and origini, she threw the empty cup and box to the trash can and headed to her closet, then opened it and scrutinized the clothes.

Whistling she brought out clothes for tomorrow. Black sweater, dark shorts, arm protectors and black long kunoichi boots.

Zabuza and Haku.

It'll be really long time no see.

"..Urrgh."

Bowing down she clutched her head. The incident in Hokage's office today was not quite her plan. In fact, she did not actually intended to piss Kakashi off.

"..But why did he look pissed?" Grumbling she went back to her bag. However, deep inside of her vain part told her that she knew it was coming.

"..."

Sighing softly she looked into the mirror again.

She was the most pretty little thing she'd ever seen.

She began to wonder what Asuma is thinking about her right now. The bearded jounin looked quite irritated as he dragged poor Konohamaru and took left few days ago.

He seemed angry.

Was it really an anger? Or was he..

_'I sensed jealousy, hah!'_

Smirking the pretty blondie lay sprawled onto the floor.

* * *

The morning dawned misty and cold.

Kakashi advanced toward the stone monument. His steps were muffled as he walked through the dew covered grass. Lovingly he reached out a hand and traced his fingers over the stone.

"Obito, Rin. I'm sorry." He took a deep shuddering breath before continuing. "I haven't been coming around as often." He laughed a bit as he spoke the words. "I have my own team now. You know, something crazy happened to one of my student. Do you believe in gender-change?"

He stood silently lost in memories of a long ago time.

"..I won't be coming back here, not for a while. I'm Sorry. Tell sensei that I'll take care of Naruto. I love you guys."

Kneeling down he placed two small flowers on the memorial stone. As he stood up the mist washed over the stone.

* * *

"Yo~!" Kakashi called as he entered the Hokage's office.

"Oh Kakashi you're... early" Sarutobi smiled in surprise.

"Is this our client?" Kakashi asked ignoring the not-so- subtle jab from the Hokage.

"Yeah, I'm Tazuna." the old man in work worn clothes said as he took a swig from a jug. "So you're Kakashi? I thought you'd be.. taller!"

Shrugging nonchalantly Kakashi pulled out his book and began to read.

"Don't let him fool you Tazuna. Kakashi is one of my best."

"Alright then. Lets get going. We have a long ways to go." Without another word the old man turned around and walked out the door. After Nodding at Sarutobi Kakashi followed him outside the door.

Together the two walked through the streets of Konoha. As they approached the gate Kakashi was pleased to see the gate still empty. He'd have time to read his book.

For five minutes Kakashi resumed his happy reading, perched on the flat stone beside the gate. And Tazuna waited patiently. The elder man thought of talking with the jounin, but upon glancing over the book the youth was reading Tazuna quickly brushed the thoughts away.

_'So the so-famous copy-ninja is a pervert.' _Sighing the client put out two glass bottles and handed one to the jounin. "Here you go."

"Ah, thank you."

Then the silence resumed again.

Kakashi was too absorbed by his hentai that he didn't notice a certain blonde approaching near.

"Hey, is that one of your students?" Tazuna asked, happy to break the silence.

Kakashi immediately closed his book as Naruto carelessly sat beside him and took a juice bottle from his hand. "Heh, it's tomato juice."

"..Yeah." Rolling his eyes Kakashi replied. "I like tomato juice."

Naruto took sips of juice as she rested her head against the jounin's arm comfortably. "Really? But I'm gonna drink this all, heh."

"Cute kid." Tazuna commented.

"Are you our client?" Naruto asked for the first time to the old man.

"That's right."

"Sensei have you eaten your breakfast?" Cocking her head upward the kunoichi questioned.

Kakashi gulped. "Emme.. I guess no."

"Why do you put 'I guess' there?" Tazuna snorted rather comically.

Making a big eye-smile Kakashi looked down at the golden head. "What about you?"

"Ramen." Making her voice almost like a sigh Naruto giggled. "Oh, there's Sasuke coming."

Indeed the raven haired boy was walking directly toward them. Well Naruto's sunkissed hair was like a neon-sign in everywhere.

"Sasuke!" Springing up from the stone Naruto waved her hand.

Sasuke lifted his eyebrow as he noticed the girl's pose while ago but quickly brushed it away and let a smirk rise upon his face. "Hey."

"This is our client." Naruto's fragile hand pointed at the old man who was watching the boy with a strange amusement.

Sasuke nodded at Tazuna. "Hello."

Kakashi reminded himself that he'd promised himself not to be surprised at the Uchiha's changes.

"So are we all ready?"

"Not yet. There's still one more.."

"SASUKE-KUN!" A happy voice of a certain pinkette made the Uchiha to flinch.

"So you're the last one. Huh don't look like a ninja much." Tazuna commented as he eyed the pink-haired girl up and down.

"Hey who are you!" Sakura shouted. "You can't talk to me like that."

"Sakura, he's our client." Naruto interjected.

Sakura turned to glare at the other girl. "I didn't ask you_"

"Troublesome girl." Tazuna shook his head.

"All right Sakura stop it. Let's go." Kakashi came up to the group. "Well this is our client Tazuna, a famous bridge builder. Our mission is to take him to the land of wave, after that we'll guard him until he finishes a bridge there. So it's a bodyguard mission. Any questions?"

"None."

"No."

So team7 plus Tazuna exited the gate, entering into the forest.

"Sasuke-kun.." Calling earnestly Sakura approached beside Sasuke.

Ignoring the pinkette Sasuke glanced over the blonde, who's walking in front of the group. Tazuna was behind Sasuke and Sakura, and Kakashi was taking a part of tail.

...

For Naruto, it was in her own little world of self recriminations.

There existed a strange irony to.. Walk with these members together again, on the same day, on the same path.

Naruto clenched her fists. When she'd woken up to find herself three years into the past she hadn't expected assimilating to be so one of her biggest problems. Why would it be when she knew everyone so well?

Heh. Only problem was, they didn't know her back.

It was ironic in some ways..

Sasuke's hand gently brushed her arm and she started slightly, before relaxing.

The Uchiha paused for a couple of moments, knowing for sure now that something was wrong- Naruto was not usually so jumpy-but not knowing what to do about it.

"Is there someting.. Wrong?" He asked tentatively, navigating through uncharted territory. Sasuke hadn't felt the need to...worry...about someone like this in a _very _long time and it felt overwhelmingly odd to do so now. The Uchiha resisted the urge to squirm.

Naruto almost stumbled when she heard Sasuke of all people try to comfort her. She turned to her friend, eyes wide. Then she smiled and punched the boy's shoulder lightly, both acknowledging and thanking the Uchiha with the simple gesture.

"Neh, it's nothing. It's just.. That it's my first time to be out of Konoha."

Naruto took a deep breath, forcing her heart rate to calm down, and focused on Sasuke's light footsteps, the soft brushing of the cloth of his shorts, and his hand running across tree bark at random intervals; they were walking on the edge of the trail, She realized.

"But what about the Academy exercises where we left the village to practise?" Sakura interrupted sharply. Naruto sighed, and Sasuke twitched slightly as well.

"Sakura, those need permission forms. I was never allowed to go on them, and even the small-scale ones that stayed inside the village were hard to get permission for." Naruto shifted agilely around a pothole that Sasuke indicated with a foot tap, focusing intently on her footsteps.

_'Hell God knows that I want to crush her immediately, but I have to keep a decent act in front of others.'_ Smirking coldly Naruto thought.

"But why couldn't you just get your parents to sign them?" Sakura actually sounded.. Provocative. Ah, the joys of living a charmed life.

It was Sasuke who answered her. "Naruto doesn't have any parents, Sakura. They died a long time ago. She's an orphan like me."

"Oh…" Sakura seemed to have realized she'd hit on a sore spot, and for about ten minutes, the trio were able to walk in silence.

Soon Sakura's voice started up again. "Excuse me, Tazuna-san? You said you came from the Land of Waves?"

"That is correct. What of it?"

"Well… doesn't the Land of Waves have its own ninja village? Why do they need us?"

"Actually, Sakura, the Land of Waves is a small island," Kakashi explained. "Ninja are military strength, and with the natural protection of the ocean, they generally have no need for them. When they and other small countries like them need ninja, they usually hire from the nearest Great Shinobi Nation."

"Huh… so, Konoha is one of those, right?"

"Correct," Kakashi said agreeably. "Konoha, of the Land of Fire; Suna, of the Land of Wind; Kumo, of the Land of Lightning; Kiri, of the Land of Water; and Iwa, of the Land of Earth, are the Five Great Shinobi Nations. There are other Hidden Villages as well, but those are the five best known."

"What are some of the others?" Sakura continued to pursue the subject.

"There's Kusa, to the north-west of us. And Taki, straight north. There's Bird Country to the west, although I don't know if their village is still in action or not. Ame is to the west as well, but not as far as Bird, and there's supposed to be a Yukigakure in the far, far north in the Land of Snow, but my map might be out of date – that place has been kinda in a civil war for the last few years. Dunno what's happening there.."

Naruto suddenly paused when she passed a nondescript, medium sized puddle of water. The puddle was radiating chakra.

Sasuke looked to Naruto and raised an eyebrow. _What the hell?_

Naruto turned back, springing up.

When the razor sharp claw attached to a chain slithered out of the water, Naruto was ready. She watched and made no attempt at aid as the claw cut up 'Kakashi' to pieces, waiting instead for the opportune moment.

A sharp scream from Sakura gave everyone a headache.

Both Demon Brothers appeared, racing towards Tazuna. Naruto glanced at the Uchiha and muttered. "Watch me, then you'll be assured that I'm worthy of being your trainer."

"What?"

Naruto ducked under the first brother's swing and gave the man a swift, harsh uppercut to the chin. The shinobi grunted and flew back several meters, landing hard on the forest floor, unmoving.

Meizu watched his brother fly and snarled. He swung his claw up in a deadly arc, intending to cleave the Konoha-nin girl into two very bloody pieces.

Naruto saw the claw, dodged it, then caught the chain right under the appendage and slammed her kunai through the links and into the ground, pinning the weapon down and rendering it unusable.

Meizu tugged futilely at the claw for a second then dropped his armband and started the signs for a water cannonball.

Naruto intercepted him before he could finish it, went down onto her hands, and powered her right foot into Meizu's abdomen, knocking the air out of the man's lungs and slamming him into a tree. The demon slid down and did not move again.

The entire battle had taken less than three minutes.

The silence in the clearing was absolute until Kakashi stepped out of the foliage and back onto the main road. Sakura squealed.

"Sensei! You're okay?"

Tazuna on the other hand, did not share her sentiments. "Hey, how come you ran away and left you super young girl to fight super tough enemies?" he yelled angrily, pointing an accusing finger at the jounin.

"She managed." Kakashi answered mildly looking at the unconscious forms of the two demon brothers on the ground. He glanced over at Naruto who met his gaze head on and winked.

Kakashi soon looked away, his head starting to ache with hundreds thoughts.

"Ne, Tazuna-san, how much farther is it to your house?" He said instead.

"Not much farther. We just have to cross a river and then we'll be in my village."

Kakashi nodded. "We should get going then." He said. He fixed Tazuna with a hard stare. "And while we're at it, you can tell us why you seem to have assassins trying to kill you. "

Working his jaw nervously Tazuna began to speak but Kakashi continued.

"Your request was to protect you from bandits and robbers. What happened earlier was above a B rank mission. Our mission was to guard and support you until you finished building the bridge. This was not part of our mission."

"The answer to that.. begins and ends with the bridge?" Tazuna began.

"The bridge?" Sasuke asked.

"The land of waves is an island nation. The only way to get goods in and out of the country is by ship. But a year ago a man arrived in the land of waves. A short man who casts a very a long and very deadly shadow. Gato."

"Gato? The Shipping Magnate Gato." Kakashi asked his eye wide. The genin exchanged confused looks.

"The same. He used his enormous wealth to take over the land of waves. Anyone who opposes him disappears. The land of waves has become a haven for his thugs and gangsters. Without that bridge there is no way to break his stranglehold on our people."

"But why did you lie?" Sakura asked.

"We have no money, we can't afford the fee for a B or an A rank mission. So we had to lie. I understand that you will have to leave me here and return to your village." He sighed dramatically. "Of course I will keep going on my own. Naturally I'll be killed the second I set foot in the land of waves. And my grandson will cry for his Grandfather." He continued sadly crocodile tears welling up in his eyes. "and my daughter-"

Kakashi sighed and rubbed the back of his head. Normally he would have said no straight out, what with him having a Genin team to take care of and all, but... Kakashi surreptitiously glanced at Naruto once again out of the corner of his eye.

Naruto had shown more than a jounin level mastery over her taijutsu and most likely had an even better grasp on other jutsu.

"..Tazuna-san, I can't make any promises but I'll think about it."

Meanwhile, Naruto was walking thoughtlessly, ignoring all of Sasuke's constant.. Scolding.

"..You gave me a heartattack when you jumped to the villains alone." Sasuke growled, finally ending the continuous chide.

Bowing her head Naruto sighed. "Come on, mother. I managed it. And didn't it prove that I'm worthy of being your.."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Mother?" He asked mildly. There was a blur and suddenly Naruto found herself knocked down by fireball jutju.

Naruto looked down at herself and scowled. "You. Suck." She said.

Sasuke smirked and offered her a hand.

0O0

An enormous spinning shape came flashing over their heads, whistling as it cut through the air. In an instant it had flown past them and smashed into the ground throwing up a spray of sand.

It revealed itself as a giant gunmetal gray cleaver with a long handle wrapped in white cloth. Hanging from the pommel on a twisted piece of cord was a single red pearl.

Its glossy surface crawled with black designs that writhed and twisted with a life of their own.

The air around them suddenly shifted and Sauske's eyes widened, instinctively tackling Naruto to the ground and covering both their heads. He didn't even bother trying to get to Tazuna or Sakura, letting Kakashi to take care of the two.

A giant zanbatou cut the air directly above them and then embedded itself into a tree, handle sticking out so that the man who'd just landed atop it could stand without fear of falling.

Naruto glared up to check the man.

_'Long time no see.'_

"Zabuza no Momochi the Demon hidden in the Mist." Kakashi stated, utterly serious for once, as he got up from his crouched position. Reaching up he took hold of and pushed his hiate up, uncovering his left eye. Revealing a red iris and three tomoe's, the legendary dojutsu the Sharingan.

_'How? How does he have the Sharingan?' _Sasuke stared in shock.

"Sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, stay here and protect Tazuna. It's your mission now." Kakashi commanded tersely.

"Sensei!" Naruto called running up to him.

Kakashi turned his body a little in the blonde's direction to indicate that he was listening but kept his eyes on his opponent. "Yes, Naruto?"

"Don't worry about here." the blonde kunoichi said quietly. "And watch out for his water prisons."

Kakashi blinked and then nodded. "Thank you."

A fine mist started to blanket the clearing. Kakashi charged.

0O0

Sasuke watched from his guard position as his teacher and Zabuza fought. When the first mizu-bunshin blew up and Zabuza held Kakashi at knife point, he tensed.

Naruto caught his eye and minutely shook her head. "No, wait. There's another ninja."

"Another nin..?" Whispering back Sasuke frowned.

"Just wait. Trust me."

Naruto started gathering chakra, bidding her time, all senses on high alert, for Haku to let down the genjutsu covering her so that he could get a concrete lock on her position. It would only be for a split second so her probe would have to be quick. Very quick.

Naruto tensed.

Kakashi got stabbed.

Sakura let out a shriek.

The veil shimmered for half an instant as Haku moved from one branch to another.

The blonde hissed, eyes alight, a foxy grin stretching her lips wide.

"Sasuke." She whispered. And then she leaped, creating a kage bunshin to take her place and completely masking her chakra in the same split second. Sasuke followed her at a slower, jerkier pace.

0O0

Kakashi settled a couple meters away from his kids and risked a backwards glance to reassure himself that they were all okay. Sakura looked terrified but unharmed. Sasuke was gone. Naruto was... kage bunshin?

The Jounin narrowed his eyes but didn't have much time to dwell on the matter as a horde of needles made of ice came raining down upon him.

"Give it up Kakashi and I might make your death and the deaths of your students quick and painless." Zabuza said his voice echoing across the clearing.

Kakashi shook his head. "Never."

Zabuza appeared in front of him and slashed him across the belly. Kakashi dissolved into a gallon of water and reappeared behind the mist-nin.

Haku's eyes narrowed and he moved to a different branch for a closer look. When had Kakashi copied the bunshin jutsu?

Zabuza chuckled all-knowingly and rolled his eyes to look at the man behind him.

Haku leaned over, completely intent on the fight unfolding in front of him-which was why he was caught entirely by surprise at the roundhouse kick that came flying from out of nowhere and powered into his face.

The ex mist-nin let out a soft cry and fell backwards, out of the tree and onto the grassy ground below where he was immediately met by two pin wheeling sharingan eyes and a ball of fire. Haku's eyes widened and he threw himself backwards, away from the jutsu.

He wasn't fast enough.

Haku narrowed his eyes as he blocked yet another front snap kick only to be suckered by the reverse twist punch thrown a millisecond after.

He back flipped several meters away, waited until the raven haired boy started to charge, and then called upon his bloodline to freeze the all the water on the ground all at once.

Sasuke's eyes widened as he slid for a couple of seconds, before falling heavily onto his left side, audible snapping of bone causing a tight grin to blossom on his face.

Naruto hissed as she saw Sasuke fall, face going white with pain as his leg cracked underneath him, bone protruding from the wound.

She ran towards her friend, her hands already glowing the steady light green to indicate a medic-jutsu, when she caught the metallic glare of Haku's katana slicing towards her friend. Naruto growled and her eyes flashed.

"Rasengan!"

0O0

Zabuza finished his water dragon jutsu and watched as an exact copy materialized right next to it. _What the hell? _The sharingan was supposed to be able to copy jutsu-not do them at the same time.

"What's this? Can you read the future?" he started to say when all of a sudden Haku came hurtling through the foliage, through their dragons and into a tree.

"Haku!" he yelled, abandoning his water jutsu and running towards his fallen partner. He looked the boy over, noting all the injuries and then glared at Kakashi in pure hatred.

"This isn't over yet Hatake. I'll see you again and when I do, I will crush you." and then he disappeared in a swirling of leaves.

Kakashi watched them go, blinking in utter surprise, before sighing.

"Hey brats?"

"Damn..." There was a pained grunt from Sasuke and the sound of a bone being put back into place.

Sakura paled dramatically at the sound. "Sasuke-kun?" she called out, her voice coming out in a squeak, thready with fear. "Are you okay?"

The Uchiha came limping out of the clearing, leaning heavily on Naruto's shoulder.

Kakashi added medic-jutsu to the boy, his head aching by ever growing list of unanswered questions about Naruto. He clearly had heard Naruto shouting 'Rasengan'.

How the hell does she know the jutsu?

Well later. He'll aske her about it later..

"All right now let's continue...Urrrgh." Slurring the end of his sentence Kakashi grabbed his head.

"Sensei?" Naruto asked approaching him. "Are you ok?"

Kakashi nearly flinched when the girl's cool palm was placed upon his forehead. Sasuke slightly furrowed his eyebrows at the scene.

"I'm ok. I'd just overused my sharingan... Let's go." Ruffling the blonde's hair the jounin stood up.

**I'm open to any suggestionS/criticisms. However, flaming won't be appreciated.**

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Review please!**


	5. Land of wave arc B

**Disclaimer: I don't own them, it belongs to Kishimoto-Ojisan.**

**A/N: again, this chapter isn't betaed. I apologize for my spellings and grammars.**

**BIG Thanks to those lovely reviewers, and also to those who PMed me for correction&advices. You guys rock!**

**Well, as for Naruto flirting with even elder men, my explanation for that is this: Since Naruto had been a boy for more than 15years, she'd have more advantage when she plays a game with.. males. I mean Boys know boys, right?^^;; I hope this helped you guys little..**

**Hope you guys enjoy this chapter..**

* * *

Well, Sakura had watched Naruto fight, unable to comprehend what she was seeing. The dobe, the dead -last of the class, took on highly trained assassins and won.

She quickly looked towards Sasuke. She was already aware that Sasuke had his mind on Naruto up to whole this time, making a reaction at Naruto's every movements. He'd even scolded the dobe for being so dashing.

Sakura bristled at the treatment, jealousy raising it's ugly head. Sasuke and Naruto had hated each other since they'd both been six years old_. _Everyone had been ignoring Naru-baka, but now just because he is she, everyone changed, too.

The pink-haired kunoichi's green eyes flared maliciously.

* * *

Tazuna's house was a nice sized cottage at the edge of the village. It wasn't much to look at really, but it had a certain homely aura to it that more than made up for it.

"Here is my home. Let me tell my daughter we are here." He said as they come to a home and knocked on the door. The door opened a crack and they heard a woman's voice gasp and she opened it and a white haired woman appeared and hugged him tears going down her face.

"Otousan, I was so scared. I thought you was dead." She said as she hugged him and he stroked her hair.

"It's alright now Tsunami," He said as he comforted her.

"Come inside, you must be tired." She said and team7 entered the room.

Tazuna turned to Kakashi. "The two bedrooms on the east side over there," he said pointing, "are for you and your team. Feel free to make yourself at home." He then disappeared into his own room.

Kakashi nodded to his kids. "Get settled guys. Naruto, when you're done, please step outside. Sakura, help Tsunami with the dinner."

Sasuke seemed to glare at the jounin but did not speak otherwise.

Three 'okay's sounded from inside the room and, ten minutes later when all was done, Kakashi started walking. Naruto followed.

0O0

"..So," Kakashi started when they were a good distance away from the house. "I'm going to make it straight. Naruto, where did you learn your Rasengan?"

_Shit._Suppressing a wince Naruto fumbled her fingers over her golden bangs. But then she quickly settled herself down and made a sooo innoccent look on her face. "Is that.. Bad, sensei?"

Kakashi rubbed a hand over his face. Naruto blinked.

"Ahem, of course not. But You know_" Slurring the end of his sentence Kakashi hesitated for a moment before continuing. "..You must give me _something_. You suddenly turned into a girl_ well it's not your fault though_, and suddenly befriended with Sasuke, and are using jutsus which you couldn't have learned yet. First tell me who'd taught you the jutsu."

Sighing inwardly Naruto looked away. Crossing her arms she dropped her head as she muttered. "My.. Companion."

The jounin raised his silver eyebrow. "Companion? What do you mean? You live alone, Naruto."

"_Really?" _Suddenly looking up the blonde asked, sarcasm obviously in her voice.

Kakashi's eyes widened dramatically.

A minute of silence passed, then Kakashi finally managed to speak again. "How..."

Naruto giggled. "The kyuubi no blah blah, I managed to talk with him when I was six. Then he'd been teaching me jutsus including.. My father's."

The jounin felt like someone was suffocating him. So the fox told Naruto about her real father.

Silence again.

Kakashi sucked in a sharp breath. "Does your _tenant_ have any relation with your... Genger-change?"

_Holy shit._Suppressing an urge to chuckle Naruto shook her head vividly. "No way. And he's just good to be my tenant. He doesn't try to possess me or something. Though sometimes he tries to irritate me.. Well, things about Sasuke, I'm currently helping his training. "

**'You're being unfair. When have I ever_' **Kyuubi began to growl, but Naruto quickly blocked him off ignoring his complains.

Kakashi massaged his temples as he contemplated the blonde. Naruto's blue eye were full of..

_Hidden wounds._

"..Mah, Naruto. Are you ok?" The question was containing more than hundreds inquiration.

"So-so." Feeling more and more hard to keep on lying Naruto took a deep breath. "It's good that I knew it earlier.. The reasons of villager's actions." Then she became silent with her head dropped down.

Watching the girl's slender shoulders vibrating little Kakashi gulped. Slowly and almost nervously, he lifted his gloved hand up and brought it onto the girl's head...

Before his fingers touched the golden strands, Naruto abruptly looked up again with a grinning face. "So! You're not worried anymore?"

Kakashi quickly withdrew his hand.

"Umme.. As long as you're okay." The jounin could not find out more right words to speak out. "Come on," He turned. "Dinner is waiting and if we take any longer Sasuke will think I've ran away kidnapping you."

Chuckling Naruto headed back to the house with her teacher.

* * *

The dinner was pleasant enough, for they were all hungry as wolves from previous adventure.

Kakashi was the only one who didn't touch his dinner. The copy-ninja probably didn't want to show his unmasked face.

However, as Naruto had expected, Inari blew up at them for going up against Gato and trying to be heroes because of course they were all just going to die anyway so why bother. Naruto tried to calm the boy down but the kid was incorrigible. Soon later Naruto had to hold Sasuke as he manfully tried to throttle the kid and beat some sense into him.

Well. So after having filled-up themselves, team7 went back to the rooms. Kakashi and Sasuke occupied one room, and the other room was occupied by Naruto and Sakura.

And Sakura took this chance to interrogate the blondie.

When they were left alone in the room, the pink-haired kunoichi slowly turned to face Naruto who'd just finished her shower.

"What's up?" Naruto asked casually as she noticed the other girl's full glare.

"..How does an idiot who'd been hated until now by the entire class suddenly befriends _my _Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked suddenly, her eyes flashing dangerously.

Naruto's cold blue eyes twitched. _'Oh yeah, I was expecting this kind of thing.'_

"You're nothing more than a dobe, an idiot, a deadlast of a class." The pinkette was snarling. "And Sasuke-kun suddenly notices your _existence_ because you're actually a girl?"

Naruto turned back.

Sakura paused for a moment to gauge the blonde's reaction. The girl's shoulders were trembling; probably trying to fight the urge to sob, or something.

Smirking the pinkette continued. "No matter what lies you told him, you're nothing more than a dobe and no one will ever truly like you.."

Suddenly Naruto whipped her head around. Sakura subconsciously took a small step back after seeing the vivid look on her face.

"Shut the fuck up, you flat-chested, low-classed bitch."

Sakura's jaw felt like it was touching the floor. Her body frozen in a place as she noticed a cruel and malicious gleaming in Naruto's blue orbs. The blonde's expression was calm and mocking itself.

"So this.. This is real you, you hypocrite!" Sakura screamed, putting a scowl on her own.

A smirk rose upon Naruto's face. It was cold and dark, cruel and sadistic. "Listen, bitch. I don't care about how you think of me, because to me you're nothing more than a pathetic slut, groveling like a whore to get a glance from the boy whom you know you'll never have!" Then she let out a scornful chuckle. "And you know that Sasuke cares for _me_, when he does not care a botton of your shirt!"

The pink-haired kunoichi fought back furious tears. "Sa.. Sasuke-kun will never truly like you!"

"Tst. Pathetic." Chuckling Naruto made a foxy smirk. "He's already wrapped in my fingers, And it is _I _who doesn't really care about how he _feels_."

Sakura narrowed her eyes dangerously, only to cause further amusement to the golden-haired kunoichi.

"I'll.. I'll tell everyone about your true identity!"

Naruto smirked and leaned toward the pinkette with a condescending air about her. Fuck, she was loving this. "Oh yeah?" She whispered to the shaking pinkette. "But do you think they'll believe_ you _over _me,_ you wide-foreheaded ugly whore?"

"You.. You're a monster!" Tears began to be streamed down from the green orbs.

"Yeah, go on, cry. But would you please face the wall when you cry? It's very disgusting to see your ugly face getting even more grotesque with those tears." Snarling the blonde smirked, Throwing her long, silky golden hair over her shoulder.

Suppressing a sob and trembling with a rage, Sakura slowly lifted her head until she was staring the blonde square in the face. Her eyes were filled with murderous intent as she sprung up on her feet to attack.

"I'll kill you, you demon!" Shrieking Sakura grabbed the golden-haired kunoichi's throat and strangled her viciously.

Too bad that she didn't get suspicious about _why_ Naruto wasn't blowing her off to the opposite wall when she was _capable enough_.

All of sudden the door of the room slammed opened and Sasuke appeared, hearing their commotion. And upon seeing the scene, he froze for a moment before rushing toward the girls. "Sakura, what the hell are you doing?-!" He yelled furiously.

Nearly jumping up and letting go of Naruto Sakura fell onto her knees, not quite knowing what to do.

"Naruto!" Sasuke quickly held Naruto who was caughing helplessly, beads of tears falling from her beautiful, shaking blue eys.

Sakura flinched when Sasuke turn to glare at her fiercely. The Uchiha's onyx eyes were_ blazing._

"She.. Started it!" Was all Sakura could say.

Just then Kakashi made his way inside the room. "What the _hell _is going on here?" His tone became low.

"How _dare _you attack her?" Sasuke growled at Sakura. "What wrong has she done to you?"

"What do you mean?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow, his voice unusually serious.

"She'd started it!" Sakura yelled pathetically, pointing at Naruto. "She'd called me a bitch first!"

The Uchiha's eyes were becoming more and more icy. "Stop it, Sakura. I heard you calling Naruto moster and demon."

"No, don't." Still caughing and sobbing Naruto grabbed Sasuke's arms. "I started it."

Biting his lips Sasuke nervously patted on the blonde's quaking shoulder.

Sakura looked up to glare at the blonde. The blonde silently smugged at her behind Sasuke's shoulder. The pinkette began to shake with a rage.

"Sakura. Stay here." Kakashi spoke up, his voice stern and also _cold._

Tears began to spring free from their confines as Sakura watched Kakashi picking up the blonde and going outside, with Sasuke following them behind. How could Sasuke glare at her so coldly, just for the dobe? How could she lose trust of both her Sasuke-kun and her sensei, just because of the dobe's filthy trick? How could Sasuke says _how dare _she attacks the dobe?

Sobbing openly now, she got to her feet and slammed the door of the room. She had a lot to think about.

0O0

Perched on the floorboard Naruto rubbed her eyes, sniffling. Sasuke was nervously squirming at right of her, more than ready to comfort her _but_ not knowing the means.

"Here, you'll feel better." Handing a cup of tea to the blonde Kakashi sat down at left of her.

"Thank you, sensei." Naruto murmured with a hoarse voice.

A clumsy silence flew for few moments. Then Kakashi broke it away by clearing his throat. "Well, want to talk about it?"

Naruto took a sip of tea, and then held the cup tightly between her hands as if she was.. _scared_. "Sakura.. suddenly approached me and told me to stay away from Sasuke. So I asked her why, then she said she can't let a dobe like me to befriend with Sasuke. So I also got angry and we began to shout at each other.. I did call her bitch first, then she called me a demon.. I'm sorry for having called our teammate a bitch, sensei, but I was angry.. And Sakura called me a demon and also said that I must die.." Her slender shoulder vibrated pitifully.

Sighing Kakashi rubbed his chin._ 'Fangirls. You can't either kill them or appreciate them.'_

Sasuke was looking seriously pissed off. His eyebrows furrowed and a hiss escaped from his clenched teeth. Frankly, to Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura was nothing more than a disturbing fangirl. Condradict to Naruto, the pinkette was annoying and useless, a girl who drools over him only seeing his _looks._

And to imagine Sakura nags Naruto down for befriending him made him seriously _pissed_.

"I hope you won't take Sakura's words seriously. " Kakashi opened his mouth mildly to the blondie. "I mean, the demon thing."

"Yeah," Sasuke assisted rather nervously. "I.. I mean _We_ do not think of you in that way."

Naruto smiled faintly. "It's ok. I've been called with that name up to whole time by villagers."

"If I hear anyone calling you like that one more time..." Gritting his teeth Sasuke snarled, his onyx eyes flaring with murderous intent. "I'll slay the moron."

"Language." Kakashi chided softly. Sasuke cleared his throat.

With a heavy sigh Naruto looked up at the dark sky. "..I feel better now. Thank you, both of you." Her breathtakingly deep blue eyes shone at the two males.

They both cleared their throats with a serious nervousness.

**'Some kind of actress you are.' **Kyuubi's thoroughly amused voice rang up in Naruto's head.

Naruto smiled meaningfully.

* * *

"Naruto.."

"..."

"Oy, Naruto."

"..Just five more minutes, sensei. Five more minutes..."

"I'm not Kakashi." The last Uchiha's rather irritated voice was finally recognized.

Rubbing her eyes Naruto sat up, then yawning cutely she glanced at the raven. The Uchiha slightly blushed at the girl's rather unarranged pose.

"It's.. 9 already." He muttered.

The blonde's large blue eyes widened with a shock. "What? Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" Then she quickly jumped down from the bed and rushed to the bathroom.

After finishing her grooming, Naruto headed to the downstairs. Sakura wasn't there, she was out in the yard. She could not really stay with Kakashi or Sasuke, for both of them were clearly still angry with her_ though Kakashi was trying to not to show it.

Well Kakashi was having a bottle of sake with Tazuna. The jounin waved the blonde a peace sign. Sasuke smirked at her.

Naruto pouted. "Why didn't you wake me up earlier?"

"Maybe they thought you need to have some more beauty sleep." Tazuna interrupted juicily.

Kakashi spouted his sake. Sasuke looked away.

Naruto suppressed an urge to glare at the old man.

"Ok, just forget about the beauty part." Tazuna coughed out with a disgusted voice.

Sighing inwardly Naruto sat beside Sasuke.

After the breakfast, Kakashi left with Tazuna to examine the bridge. Naruto took Sasuke to the forest for the training.

Though Naruto did not really need Sasuke's help to beat Zabuza and Haku, the missing-nins were yet to come and she needed to kill her time.

Well she'd even beat Pein in her former life. Zabuza will be _her_ victim this time.

**I'm open to any suggestionS/criticisms. However, flaming won't be appreciated.**

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Review please!**


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